One Week Boyfriends
by FadedLaughter
Summary: Midoriya and Todoroki are currently 3rd year students at U.A. One night, Todoroki asks Midoriya a favour - a favour which will end up changing their relationship forever.
1. Chapter 1 : The Favour

**Chapter 1: The Favour**

"Midoriya?"

The low hesitant voice behind him startled Midoriya as he accidentally dropped the pen he was holding. Another pair of hands immediately reached forward along with Midoriya's to catch the pen before it dropped on the floor. "Sorry…I didn't mean to surprise you," apologized the boy, handing the pen back to Midoriya.

Midoriya immediately sat up straight and put away his notebooks over which he had been mulling since the last hour. "I-It's alright Todoroki-kun! I guess I got too absorbed in analyzing Snatch's quirk. I didn't even hear you come in." Something about Todoroki seemed off. Midoriya and Todoroki had grown a lot closer ever since the Sports Festival during their first year at UA to the point where Midoriya was certain Todoroki considered him his best friend. Their increased interactions had enabled Midoriya to be able to read the subtle hints that Todoroki gave out whenever he was disturbed. The slight shifting of his eyes every few seconds, the stillness in his stance, and the very aura that he gave off – while most others couldn't really tell the difference, it was clear as daylight to Midoriya that Todoroki was extremely nervous and fidgety. Seeing that Todoroki was still standing, Midoriya patted the seat next to him on the sofa and indicated to Todoroki to sit down. "Is something bothering you Todoroki-kun?" asked Midoriya as soon as Todoroki sat down. It was 1am on Saturday and the rest of their classmates went to sleep long ago. Midoriya had been jotting down points on his Hero Analysis notebooks in the dorm common room with the television tuned into the Hero News Channel. Todoroki remained silent. Biting his lips slightly, he peeked a glance at Midoriya before shifting his gaze to the ground, his fingers nervously twining.

Midoriya had never seen Todoroki this anxious before. It bothered him. It always bothered him whenever Todoroki was feeling even slightly out of it. After a few minutes of silence had passed while Midoriya wondered whether he should break the silence or not, Todoroki took a deep breath and looked into Midoriya's eyes. The sheer intensity of those beautiful heterochromatic eyes so close to his face overwhelmed Midoriya. He could feel his heartbeat increasing considerably and a slight hot flush riding up his cheeks. _Not now!_ He thought to himself angrily.

"I…have a favour to ask of you," gulped Todoroki. Midoriya's mind immediately answered – _anything_. Shaking his head a bit, Midoriya gave him a smile. "Sure Todoroki-kun. What is it?"

"I…waswonderingwhetheryouwouldagreetobemyfakeboyfriendforaweek," gushed out Todoroki in one breath, his cheeks reddening immediately. Midoriya's eyes widened. Had he just heard him right? Todoroki kept his eyes fixed on the floor, refusing to look at Midoriya. Silence stretched on between them until Midoriya could take it no more.

"Ummm…T-Todoroki-kun? You…want me to be your _fake_ boyfriend for a week?"

Midoriya could see Todoroki's hands clenching tightly and the blush on his face becoming more prominent. Slowly, he gave him a nod.

" _Why?_ "

At Midoriya's question, Todoroki closed his eyes and let out a deep breath. Midoriya could see that the nervousness in him had gone down a lot. Finally looking at Midoriya again, Todoroki said, "I'm sorry, Midoriya, for springing this on you without any sort of explanation. I was just, well, really nervous and it seems I might have messed up the order a bit."

Seeing that Todoroki no longer looked like he was about to pass out of nervousness, Midoriya visibly relaxed, but the beating in his heart never slowed. Fake _boyfriend_? Todoroki had a lot of explaining to do.

"Last week, I got a call from my father." Midoriya stiffened at the mention of Endeavour. He might have an inkling of where this was going. "Now that we're almost about to graduate he's been pestering to set me up for marriage interviews for months. Of course he doesn't want me to marry immediately or anything. But he wants me to be at least engaged to someone of his choice as soon as possible. I've been refusing his offer every time he called but last week…the argument got too heated and I might have…lied that I was already in a relationship. I should never have hoped that that would deter him though. Since I refused to tell him the name of the person I'm in the _supposed_ relationship with, he threatened to force me into an engagement unless I introduce my… _lover_ …to him and he also said, and I quote, 'You better bring this lover of yours to stay with us for a week during your vacation. I'll judge whether she is fit to be your partner or not.' "

Midoriya took a while to process all the information. When Todoroki mentioned Endeavour, Midoriya had pretty much guessed what might have happened and he was right. But there was a tiny thing in what Todoroki just told him that was bothering him. "Todoroki-kun, I think Endeavour is expecting a girl to be your lover. Wouldn't it be better if you asked one of the girls in our class?"

Todoroki sighed. "I'm…not really close with any of the girls. I am friends with them but this is not a favour I can ask of them. I know I'm asking a lot Midoriya but, would you please at least consider doing me this favour?"

Midoriya would do anything to help his friend. There was no question about that. But…there was just a teensy tiny problem. Midoriya was very much in love with Todoroki and he had a bad feeling about getting into a fake relationship with him for a whole week. He had been in love with Todoroki for two years now. His feelings had started to grow ever since the end of their first year in UA and by now, in their third year, Midoriya was head-over-heels in love with him. He had never really considered confessing his feelings to Todoroki. He didn't want to leave an awkward mess out of their friendship if he got rejected. And now, the very person he had dreams about, the very person who made his heart race a thousand miles per hour…was asking him to be in a fake relationship with him. Somewhere deep in his heart, Midoriya felt a pang of pain. He quickly dismissed it.

Midoriya looked at Todoroki…and his fate was sealed. Todoroki was looking at him with a pleading face, eyes wide and hopeful. There was no way he could deny Todoroki if he was going to do the puppy dog face on him.

"Izuku," Midoriya sighed.

"Huh?"

"If we're going to do it, we better get used to calling each other by our first names. Otherwise Endeavour might get suspicious," replied Midoriya. "So…call me Izuku." Seeing Todoroki's eyes widen, Midoriya wanted nothing more than to dig a hole and bury himself in it. What was he thinking? That was way too forward! He should have asked whether Todoroki was ok to be on first name basis with him! The blush that spread on Todoroki's cheeks was quite similar to the one that had covered Midoriya's whole face.

Midoriya's thoughts on how to completely erase his existence was interrupted when Todoroki replied, "Then I hope you'll be calling me Shouto from now on…Izuku." Midoriya's brain short-circuited. Hearing Todoroki say his name…the way his deep and sensuous voice seemed to caress the word…was too much for him.

"Y-yeah…" he managed to stammer out while trying to stop his heart beating out of his chest.

Todoroki got up from the sofa. "It's getting late. You should head to bed soon." Was it just him or was Todoroki avoiding eye contact? Heading towards the elevator to go up to his room, Todoroki paused and turned to Midoriya again. "Izuku?"

"Y-yeah?" squeaked Midoriya. _Dammit, he would have to get used to that!_

"Thank you…and goodnight," smiled Todoroki.

Izuku's heart did a triple backflip at the warm smile that lit up Todoroki's face. "Goodnight…Shouto," he replied. After Todoroki left, Midoriya sank down on the sofa and tried to gather up his thoughts. The whole thing felt like a dream to him. There was only 2 days left till their one week long vacation started. He would have to act as Todoroki's boyfriend during that week…a _fake_ boyfriend. Midoriya once again dismissed the slight pain he felt in his heart at that thought.

 _It's alright. He could do it. After all, what's the worst that could happen?_


	2. Chapter 2 : Aftermath

**Chapter 2 : Aftermath**

 _Shouto_

Green eyes... a smile brighter than the sunshine…

 _Shouto_

A voice that filled him with warmth…

 _Shouto_

He extended his hands…reaching out…for that voice…those eyes…that smile

 _Shouto_

Almost there…

… _Izuku_

BAM!

Todoroki woke up with a start. Looking around, he found himself on the ground, having fallen off the bed. Thankfully he didn't hit his head hard. That would have been a bother. What was he dreaming about? His heart ached. Try as hard as he wanted to, he just couldn't recall his dream. The more he tried the more it slipped from his fingers. He didn't want that. It was important…at least he thought it was. He wanted to keep on dreaming. The melancholic feeling of having lost something precious gripped him. Shaking his head he got off the floor and looked at the clock – 5am. Was there any point in going back to sleep now? It was a Saturday so they would only have half a day of school anyway. He could get some sleep after.

Looking out of the window, Todoroki spotted Midoriya heading out in a jogging uniform. His blush was almost immediate as he recalled his conversation with him last night. He had asked Midoriya to pretend to be his boyfriend for a week! There was no backing out now. He had worked up his courage to ask Midoriya and he had agreed. Oh God! He had called him _Shouto_! Todoroki could feel his temperature rise up. He picked up his phone immediately to send a text.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
To: Yaoyorozu Momo  
From: Todoroki Shouto  
Time: 5:05am (Saturday)

He said yes!  
He called me SHOUTO!

Todoroki changed out of his nightwear and into his jogging suit, putting the phone in his pocket. Momo would probably be waking up a little later. He'd have to do something about the restlessness and excitement he was feeling on his own. Jogging would probably help. Yup, that was the only reason he was going jogging- to help him calm down. Nothing to do with the green haired boy he had spotted a few minutes ago.

Todoroki had sported a crush on Midoriya since their second year at UA. The more he got to know the boy the more he fell in love with him. He was a hard working, passionate, humble and gentle person and Todoroki could feel himself becoming more and more enamoured with Midoriya each passing day. He could never really gather up the courage to ask him out however. What if he said no? Todoroki didn't think he'd be able to face a rejection from Midoriya. It might also ruin their friendship. He knew Midoriya would never dissolve their friendship over something like that but the awkwardness would creep in and he didn't want that. He wanted to enjoy his time with Midoriya.

Sighing, he thought back on his last phone call with Endeavour. It had gone so horribly wrong. He shouldn't have let his anger take control. And now Midoriya would be staying with him…for a whole week...pretending to be his boyfriend. Who knows what Endeavour will do. Todoroki could feel his anger resurface and he clenched his fist. If that piece of trash even thought about hurting Midoriya physically or emotionally, there was no saying what Todoroki might do to him.

Leaving the dorm, Todoroki took a deep breath. The air was cool and crisp, the weather perfect for a jog. Plugging in his earphones, he set out towards the little park within the dorm grounds, his favourite place to just sit quietly and relax surrounded by nature.

* * *

To: Uraraka Ochako  
From: Midoriya Izuku  
Time: 1:45am (Saturday)

URARAKA!  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
To: Uraraka Ochako  
From: Midoriya Izuku  
Time: 1:50am (Saturday)

URARAKA! PLEASE REPLY ASAP!  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
To: Uraraka Ochako  
From: Midoriya Izuku  
Time: 1:55am (Saturday)

URARAKA! I'm DYING HERE!  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Izuku's phone rang.

'What the hell Deku-kun…it's two in the morning. Are you in trouble?' a sleepy voice asked once he picked up.

"Uraraka, I'm really sorry I woke you up. I just don't know what to do. I'm so confused! I know I told him I'd help him but why do I feel so sad? I'm the worst aren't I? I had already decided that we'd only remain friends. I want to help him…I really do. I can't stand to see him being bullied around by his poor excuse of a father. Ughhh I'm so angry Uraraka! Why does that man feel like he can control Todoroki however he wants? I feel so bad for him. I guess I should feel happy that he chose me to be his pretend lover…he said he's not as close to anyone as he is with me. I was so happy to hear that. But…maybe I still had my hopes up? That something might happen between us? Is that why I feel so sad that he just wants me as a fake boyfriend? I just - "

"Deku-kun, slow down a bit! Take a deep breath and tell me what's happened again from the beginning," interrupted Uraraka before Midoriya could continue his ramblings any further.

"Ah, sorry Uraraka." Midoriya then began explaining what had happened an hour ago in full detail. Uraraka was not a stranger to his feelings for Todoroki. In fact, it was she who had been a pillar of support when his feelings became too much for him to bear. Repressing feelings was hard.

After he had finished explaining he heard Uraraka sigh. "Deku-kun…you're screwed. There's no way you can hide your feelings for Todoroki-kun if you're going to stay with him for a whole _week_! Together! And not only that but, pretend to be _lovers_?! You can probably survive four days max."

"Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence."

"I'm serious Deku-kun. Why don't you confess to him already? I'm pretty sure it'll turn out fine."

"Sigh…Uraraka I don't know why you're so confident about that but I've told you a hundred times before that I don't want to risk it," replied an exasperated Midoriya. Uraraka had been trying to coax him into confessing since last year because apparently she was _'99.9% sure that Todoroki liked him back'_.

"Well suit yourself. And of course you'd be sad that you'd only get to be with him in a fake relationship. You _love_ him, for God's sake! So don't feel bad about that, ok? I'm sure it'll work out…somehow." Midoriya did not miss the uncertainty in her voice. Honestly, even he was uncertain. Would he really be able to control his feelings and not make an utter fool of himself in front of Todoroki?

"Anyway, thanks for listening Uraraka. I am feeling a bit better after getting all that out of my system. Sorry for waking you up," apologized Midoriya.

"It's okay, Deku-kun. You know you can rely on me anytime. Now get some sleep. We've got class in six hours. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Uraraka."

* * *

… _ku_

… _uku_

Hm?

… _zuku_

What was that noise?

… _Izuku_

His name…someone was calling out his name. Who is it?

 _Izuku_

This voice…ah…it was _him_.

Midoriya woke up with a start. He could feel his heart beating abnormally fast. His breathing was shallow. Clutching his chest with one hand he plopped down on the bed and covered his face with the other. His face was on fire. Just hearing his name from Todoroki's lips sent him over the edge, even in his dreams. Uraraka was right. _He was screwed_.

Glancing at his alarm clock he read the time – 4:50 am. He had barely gotten two hours of sleep and it seemed like he wouldn't be getting any more after that dream. Getting up he quickly brushed his teeth and changed out of his All might jumper into his tracksuit. He might as well get some exercise done before classes began. Grabbing a bottle of water, he set out towards the little park within the dorm grounds.


	3. Chapter 3 : Todoroki's Request

**Chapter 3 : Todoroki's Request**

Todoroki came across Midoriya about an hour later, lying down on the grass, eyes closed and breathing softly. He looked at his phone – 6:30am. Should he wake him up? Midoriya looked really peaceful sleeping there like that. Todoroki smiled as he looked at Midoriya's innocent sleeping face. Who knew such soft features could change into a fierce determination when it came to protecting someone from danger? He watched as the wind gently ruffled Midoriya's curls. It was too beautiful. Almost unconsciously he turned on his phone and clicked a picture. The immediate sound of the flash snapped him out of his reverie. _Shit_. Did that wake him up?

Midoriya moaned a bit and turned on his side, but continued sleeping. Sighing in relief, Todoroki sat down beside him and looked at the photo he just took. It was a piece of art. Should he feel guilty about clicking Midoriya's picture without his permission? He didn't want to come off as a creep. As he was debating, he heard Midoriya shift again and moan something.

"… _to_ …"

He never knew Midoriya talked even in his sleep. Curiosity got the better of him as he got closer, trying to make out Midoriya's garbled words.

"… _to_.."

"… _Shouto_ "

Todoroki immediately backpedalled. Did Midoriya just say his name?! In his dreams?! What was he dreaming about? Was he dreaming about… _him_? Todoroki shook his head. No no no no he had to calm down…he had to… _shit_ …was that smoke coming out of his left side?! He immediately activated his right side to regulate his body temperature. Well that was close. He almost burnt off his jogging wear. Trying to calm his heartbeat which was currently running a marathon, he looked at Midoriya again. It was so unfair. The boy was sleeping so peacefully not knowing just how much of a wreck he was making Todoroki. It was probably time to wake him up.

"Mi…" he paused. "Izuku."

Midoriya kept on sleeping.

"Izuku," Todoroki called again, this time gently shaking Midoriya.

"Hmm?" The boy slowly opened his eyes. "Shouto? Weren't you in be- eh? Huh?" Midoriya sat up immediately looking at his surroundings. "Oh crap! I fell asleep? Ughhhh…."

"Are you alright, Izuku?" asked Todoroki.

"Huh? Oh ya sorry about that. I…didn't have a good night's sleep. Guess I fell asleep when I was just supposed to take a 5 minutes break," apologized Midoriya. "You're out for jogging as well, Todo- umm I mean – Shouto?"

"Yeah. I thought it'd be nice to get some exercise done before class." Well, he wasn't lying completely, was he? But it bothered him that Midoriya didn't get enough sleep. "Is it my fault?" he asked quietly.

"What?"

"That you couldn't sleep. Is it because of what I asked you to do? You don't really have to force yourself Midoriya. I know it was a lot to ask and if you're uncomfortable even a little bit we can call this off. I can manage my father somehow," gushed out Todoroki.

Sighing, he lightly punched Todoroki in the side. When he finally looked up at Midoriya he found him smiling. "I already told you to call me Izuku, didn't I? It's not uncomfortable for me at all and I want to help you, Shouto. So take it easy will you? We'll kick Endeavour's ass!"

Laughing Midoriya fell back on the grass and stretched out his arms. "Ahhhh it's such a good weather. I almost don't want to leave." Todoroki could feel a smile on his face watching Midoriya childishly pout and refuse to get up from the ground. He smiled a lot more around Midoriya than he did his entire life. No matter how much he tried, he'd probably never be able to make Midoriya understand just how much he appreciated his very existence.

Getting up he extended his right hand toward Midoriya. "Come on get up now. We need to freshen up once we're back in the dorms. Don't forget we've got Aizawa-sensei's class in first period."

"Yikes!" chirped Midoriya as he immediately took Todoroki's hand and got on his feet. "Can't be late for that now, can we?"

Todoroki's hand somehow felt even more cold when Midoriya let go of it. He wanted nothing more than to take hold of those scarred hands and never let them go. Clenching his right hand he walked along with Midoriya to their dorms.

* * *

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
To: Todoroki Shouto  
From: Yayourozu Momo  
Time: 7:01am (Saturday)

I'm very happy for you Todoroki-kun but are you really sure about the fake relationship thing? Can you really hide your feelings from Midoriya-san for a week?  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
To: Yayourozu Momo  
From: Todoroki Shouto  
Time: 7:05am (Saturday)

I'll be trying my best.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

* * *

Sunday rolled in and Midoriya found himself packing his bags in his room with Todoroki sitting on his bed. All the third year students were given a week's holiday and Midoriya had pretty much planned to stay back in the dorms because his mom was out on a trip to the onsens with the Neighbourhood Association members. Bakugou, Sero, Kirishima, Hagakure and Tokoyami were staying back while the rest of his class was busy preparing their luggage to go back home and relax for a week.

Midoriya looked disdainfully at his closet. Most of his casual clothes were All Might themed. Endeavour would probably burn them to a crisp if he ever found them. He didn't have even three pairs of jumpers which weren't All Might themed. What was he going to do? Seeing Midoriya looking at his closet and mumbling unintelligible words, Todoroki got up and looked over his shoulder. Ah…he understood Midoriya's dilemma. To be perfectly honest though, he found Midoriya's wardrobe really cute. An All might hoodie, All Might t-shirts, All Might jumper – it was just too adorable seeing how big of a fan he was of All Might. Plus it would have been a sight to see Midoriya wearing his All Might themed clothes right in front of his father's nose. Hiding his smirk at the thought, he tapped Midoriya's shoulder to get his attention.

"Izuku, if you're worried about bringing those clothes with you, you can wear mine instead. I have lots of unused stuff and they'll probably fit you too," suggested Todoroki, trying hard not to have improper thoughts of Midoriya wearing his clothes…sleeping in his clothes…waking up in… _no stop!_

"Oh! Ummmm well if you d-don't mind t-then I guess…I'll take you up on the offer, Shouto," Midoriya's voice interrupted Todoroki's daydreams and he could see the boy's slight blush. He was pretty sure he was blushing himself. He had never really had a friend he could invite on a sleepover in his house before. Sharing clothes was normal right? He wasn't crossing some sort of line or anything…right? Besides he and Midoriya were supposed to be lovers during this week. That's right. It's not weird. It's perfectly normal for lovers to wear each others' clothes.

"Well I'm done packing. So what did you want to talk about Shouto?" asked Midoriya as he zipped up his bag. Todoroki had come over to his room early in the morning saying that he had something important to talk about. Seeing that Midoriya was busy packing he had sat down on his bed waiting for him to finish.

"Izuku, you still haven't met my mother right? And I was thinking…I really don't want to properly introduce Endeavour as my parent to you first. So umm…would you…like to, you know, meet my mother today…before we head over to my place?" Todoroki was nervous. He had confessed his feelings for Midoriya to his mother a few days after he had realized it himself. To say that his mother was overjoyed would be an understatement. She had been wanting to meet Midoriya for a long time now but Todoroki could never really gather up the courage for it. But now…he really wanted Midoriya to meet his mother first. It was only because of Midoriya that he had been able to take his first steps in reconnecting with his mother again and if Midoriya was going to pretend to be his lover, he'd want to introduce him to her first.

Midoriya's eyes widened. While the rest of the class had a vague idea about Todoroki's problems with his father, he had hardly ever mentioned his mother to them. It was still a sensitive subject and the fact that Todoroki was feeling comfortable about letting Midoriya meet his mother…Midoriya could feel his eyes stinging as he quickly willed his tears away. He was happy… _so_ _so happy_! Even if he could control his tears, he couldn't control the smile that lit up his face.

"I'd love to meet your mother, Shouto."

* * *

 **A/N :** I totally forgot about doing this segment in the previous chapters XD I was just really excited about rolling out the chapters asap :P  
I would like to thank everyone who is reading this story, has favourite-d it and/or has followed it. Also captainwhisks, AALIYAH DANA, ThatOnePerson and Guest - thank you so much for leaving reviews. It motivates me a lot and I'm glad to see you all enjoying the story.


	4. Chapter 4 : Todoroki's Mother

**Chapter 4: Todoroki's Mother**

"Shouto, what should we tell your mom about us?" asked Midoriya as they entered the hospital. He was pretty excited and nervous about meeting Todoroki's mother. He didn't want to leave a bad impression. He was probably the first friend Todoroki brought over to visit her. No doubt she'd be curious to see what kind of people her son hung around with. Would she be disappointed with Midoriya? No…he was overthinking again.

Todoroki thought about it for a while. He hadn't mentioned to his mother that he had asked Midoriya to be in a fake relationship with him. Somehow…he felt like she would not approve of that. If he introduced Midoriya as his boyfriend she would probably get overexcited and blurt out the truth about his feelings. Todoroki cringed internally. It was too embarrassing to even think about it. Friends it is then. Plus, he really didn't want to lie to his mother.

"Let's go with friends. There's no point pretending to be in a relationship in front of her," Todoroki replied.

As they neared Mrs. Todoroki's room, Midoriya found himself getting more nervous. What if she didn't like him? Was he even wearing proper clothes? Was there even any appropriate clothes to wear when visiting your friend's mom who had been abused both physically and mentally by her husband and had been confined to a psychiatric ward by him for scarring their son? Yeah…probably not. But he wished he had doned on something a little more formal than just a t-shirt and jeans.

Todoroki could sense Midoriya's rising anxiety. He was a bit nervous himself. "Izuku, breathe," he whispered near Midoriya's ears, giving his hand a squeeze for comfort. A shiver went down Midoriya's back at Todoroki's voice so near his ears. Trying to keep the rising blush out of his face from giving him away, he squeezed back Todoroki's hand and gave him a smile.

"I'm fine…just a bit nervous," he replied meekly.

"You've got nothing to worry about Izuku. I'm sure she'll love you," assured Todoroki as he mentally noted how their hands were still linked. It felt good. Midoriya was the first to break contact after a few moments. He really wanted to believe that the flash of emotion that crossed Midoriya's face was reluctance, just like his…but that was probably him portraying his own feelings on Midoriya.

Finally they reached her room and Todoroki knocked twice before opening the door. Midoriya was greeted by a room filled with sunshine and the smell of… _cookies?_ Before he had a chance to take in anything else, he was suddenly pulled into a hug along with Todoroki. Beautiful white hair filled his vision as he could feel the person shaking faintly.

"Mom…you're crushing us," managed to squeeze out Todoroki. _That was an exaggeration_ , thought Midoriya, hiding his smile. Maybe Todoroki was embarrassed? The hug felt nothing but warm to him. He almost wanted to melt in it. They were soon released and Midoriya saw Todoroki's mother wiping away a tear from her eyes.

"I'm sorry…it's just, I'm so so happy that Todoroki has finally decided to introduce a friend of his. I was thinking that maybe all his stories about hanging out with friends was made up so that he wouldn't make me worried," she replied smiling.

"Mom!" protested Todoroki as he tried to fix his ruffled-up shirt. "That's really mean you know. I have friends."

"Of course you do dear," said Mrs. Todoroki ruffling up her son's hair. "Now would you like to introduce us properly?"

"You aren't giving me a chance to do that," mumbled Todoroki, patting his hair in place. The loving banter between Todoroki and his mother made Midoriya smile. He was really happy to see how much they have grown closer over the last two years.

"Anyway…Izuku, this is my mother. And mom, this is Izuku Midoriya."

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you Midoriya Izuku…may I call you Izuku-kun? I've heard a…" Glancing at her son, she gave him a smile, "… _lot_ about you." She extended her hand to Midoriya. Taking it Midoriya gave a polite handshake as he said, "It's a pleasure to meet you too Mrs. Todoroki. And please, call me whatever you're comfortable with."

"Oh you don't have to be so formal with me Izuku-kun. Why don't you and Shouto have a seat while I finish preparing the tea? I just put the kettle on when you arrived," said Mrs. Todoroki as she went over to the small table with the electric kettle on it and took out some cups from the cabinet.

Midoriya sat down on one chair as Todoroki stepped in to help his mother. Looking around the room, Midoriya spotted a lot of different small potted plants and colourful flowers. It gave a room a somewhat earthy and flowery scent. There was a book on knitting laid out on the bed. There was a photograph on the bedside table of Todoroki, his mom and another woman whom Midoriya assumed was Todoroki's sister looking at her white hair with red streaks in it. Todoroki looked a bit embarrassed in the picture, almost crushed between the two but the love in his eyes was evident. The room really wasn't what he had expected it to be. Midoriya immediately associated a psychiatric ward with something cold. But this room was so bright and warm it seeped into his bones and made him lose all his nervousness.

"Tea's ready," chirped Mrs. Todoroki as she handed Midoriya his cup. Todoroki sat down beside him on the visitor's chair while his mother took a seat on the bed. "Oh and here are some cookies Fuyumi delivered an hour ago." She took out a box and offered the cookies to Midoriya and Todoroki.

"Fuyumi-neechan was here?" Todoroki asked mildly surprised.

"Yes she would have loved to stay and meet you but she said that she had some shopping to do. Something about a guest coming to stay for a week…?" trailed off Mrs Todoroki as she sipped her tea.

Todoroki choked. _Fuyumi that bastard!_ He knew her sister's visiting routines so he should have been suspicious of her when he heard of her sudden visit. Beside him Midoriya stiffened.

"Shouto! Are you okay?" asked Mrs Todoroki in concern.

"Yeah…the cookies got stuck in my throat…that's all," he choked out as he gulped down some tea.

He was going to kill his sister.

"Ahhh umm Mrs. Todoroki you have a lot of plants and flowers here. It's really lovely." Midoriya quickly intervened. Todoroki shot him a thankful look for the subject change.

"Ah yes," smiled Mrs. Todoroki warmly. "Fuyumi and Shouto sometimes brings along these little souvenirs. They really make the room brighter, don't they? I'm so lucky to have such caring children."

"Mom," groaned Todoroki, looking anywhere but at his mom, a slight blush covering his cheeks.

"Oh my, are you getting embarrassed because your friend is here, Shouto?" teased Mrs Todoroki.

Midoriya laughed. He had hardly seen anyone tease Todoroki before. It was definitely something interesting to witness. Mrs. Todoroki's attention focused back on Midoriya. Todoroki didn't like the glint he saw in her eyes. He knew she had something up her sleeve.

"Izuku-kun, would you mind telling me what you think of Shouto as a person? I'm very curious to know how he acts around others," she asked, a hint of smile on her lips.

"Shouto's extremely talented and hard working! I think he's the strongest in our class. His control over his quirk is impeccable. At first he might come off as a bit cold and unapproachable but once you get to know him you realize just how much of a sincere and kind guy he is. He's always there to lend a helping hand and even though he doesn't show it much but he really cares about all his classmates. One time he stayed up with me all night to help me with some maths problem before the exam. He's really really amazing and I'm really glad he's one of my closest friends ever!" Midoriya's eyes sparkled as he went on and on talking about what he thought of Todoroki.

Mrs. Todoroki was slightly taken aback but she couldn't stop her smile or the warmth that filled her with those words. She really had nothing to worry about. Glancing at her son, she almost laughed out at how red his face was. _He couldn't have chosen a better person to fall in love with_ , thought she happily.

If Todoroki had felt embarrassment before at his mother's words, it was nothing compared to what he was feeling as he heard Midoriya go on and on about how amazing he was. He was almost burning up with embarrassment but inside he was happy…really happy. Midoriya didn't even seem to register all the embarrassing things he was spouting out. Once he got excited, there was no stopping him.

The three of them talked at length about how they were doing in school, their other friends, their teachers, the internships they would be taking up this year and so many other random things that they didn't even notice the time. It was only when the light inside the room dimmed a bit that Todoroki looked at his watch and was surprised to see that they had spent more than four hours talking. He was a little surprised but nonetheless happy to see how well his mom and Midoriya got along. He couldn't have asked for anything more.

"Visiting hours are almost over," said Todoroki getting up. "We should be leaving now."

"Oh is that the time already?" Mrs Todoroki looked at the clock. "I didn't even notice it. It was so much fun talking to you Izuku-kun."

"I had a lot of fun too Mrs. Midoriya. Ummm…if you don't mind…would it be okay for me to visit you sometimes with Shouto as well?" asked Midoriya with a little hesitation.

"You're welcome to come and visit me anytime," said Mrs. Todoroki pulling him into a hug.

Just as they were about to leave, Mrs Todoroki signaled to her son. Todoroki caught the hint and turned to Midoriya. "Izuku, would you mind going down to the reception area before me? I need to drop by the washroom."

Midoriya nodded and went off after waving goodbye to Mrs. Todoroki.

…..

"He's a good boy. You've fallen in love with a wonderful person. I'm really happy for you Shouto. I can see that you're really happy and you deserve all the happiness in the world," whispered Mrs. Todoroki.

Todoroki could feel himself choking up with emotion as he went forward and hugged his mother tightly.  
"Thank you, mom. I love you."

"I love you too Shouto."

* * *

 **A/N: Yayyyy another chapter's up ! I just wanna say THANK YOU to everyone who have left a review / has favourited the story/ is following it. Do tell me what you think about the story and how it's progressing. I'd love to heard feedback from you all.**


	5. Chapter 5 : The Devil

**Chapter 5 : The Devil**

The walk from the hospital to the Todoroki residence wasn't very long. The Sun had already set and the remains of sunlight bathed the surroundings in an ethereal mixture of red and orange. Midoriya had never seen Todoroki as relaxed as he was now. It made him really happy. Midoriya rattled off about the recent encounter All Might had with a group of rogue villains while Todoroki listened attentively, nodding and sometimes giving his own input. Occasionally Midoriya caught Todoroki staring at his face which made him wonder – was he talking too much again? Bakugou had always screamed at him to keep quiet whenever he went on one of his mumbling tirades but Todoroki had never seemed to mind it.

Soon Todoroki came to a halt in front of, what Midoriya assumed, was the entrance to his house. His eyes widened. The estate was huge! Todoroki opened the front gate and they walked into the gardens filled with beautiful flowers, trees and manicured grass. There was a big pond in one corner and Midoriya couldn't help but peer into the crystal clear water, only to find at least six different kinds of fish swimming about in it. The house itself was two-storied and of the traditional Japanese kind. The sheer size of the building stopped Midoriya in his tracks as he tried in vain not to let his amazement show.

"Ostentatious, isn't it?" Todoroki said and Midoriya detected an edge in his voice, "My brothers had already moved out at the first opportunity so it's only my father, sister and me living here."

"It…umm…really leaves quite an impression," murmered Midoriya, making sure to walk close to Todoroki. He had a feeling that it would be very easy to get lost in those grounds if he kept getting distracted.

They walked up to the front door, Midoriya unconsciously hiding himself a bit behind Todoroki. He hadn't prepared himself mentally to meet Endeavour yet. "I'm home," announced Todoroki as he took off his shoes. Midoriya did the same mumbling a barely audible "Please pardon the intrusion." He heard hurried footsteps approaching from inside the house and a young woman came to greet them. Her eyes were a startling grey and her hair porcelain white with whisps of red here and there.

"Shouto, welcome back!" said she, hugging Todoroki quickly before letting him go and looking Midoriya up and down. Midoriya wanted to hide himself behind Todoroki completely. He shifted a bit and lowered his head mumbling, "I-It's a p-pleasure to meet you ummm…" If he wasn't wrong, this was Todoroki's elder sister Fuyumi. His guess was confirmed as Todoroki stepped forward a bit as if to shield Midoriya from the woman's piercing gaze and said, "Fuyumi-nee you're being rude. Would you stop staring at Izuku?"

"Ah sorry sorry," apologized Fuyumi before taking a step back. "Let me introduce myself. I'm Fuyumi Todoroki, Shouto's sister. Nice to meet you…Izuku, right?"

"Y-Yes! I'm Izuku Midoriya. It's nice to meet you Ms. Todoroki."

"Call me Fuyumi…in fact…you can even call me nee-chan!" smirked Fuyumi.

Todoroki who was about to step over the threshold stumbled and lost his footing. Turning his head around, he found his sister giving him and Midoriya the sweetest of smiles and Midoriya looked as red as a tomato as he fumbled on. Giving his sister a piercing glare Todoroki said, "That's not funny Fuyumi-nee. You're making Izuku uncomfortable."

Fuyumi looked like she was sorry but Todoroki hadn't spent so many years with his sister to know that she was an excellent actress – on second thoughts maybe being a good actor was a common trait with the Todorokis given how much they had to act like everything was fine in their lives in front of the press – so he didn't miss the glint in her eyes.

"Ahhh I'm really sorry Izuku. I can call you Izuku right? After all you're my little brother's… _boyfriend_ , aren't you? I can't believe he actually managed to land himself such a cute guy. Honestly I had almost given up on him. Good job, Shouto!" Fuyumi turned to Todoroki and gave him a thumbs up.

"T-The pleasure i-is all mine…umm…Fuyumi-san. S-Shouto is an excellent b-boyfriend," blushed Midoriya. If he had a fire related quirk he was certain he would have set Todoroki's house on fire by now given how embarrassed he was.

Seeing that his sister would continue teasing them if they stayed put, Todoroki took Midoriya's hand and pulled him into the house. It seemed even bigger to Midoriya now that he was inside.

"Where are we going Shouto?" asked Midoriya.

"It's been a long day and you must be tired after dragging that heavy bag with you for so long. I'll take you to your room," replied Todoroki.

He had not let go of his hand still and Midoriya didn't mind that one bit. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Fuyumi trailing behind them. Todoroki arrived in front of the guest room and opened the door. Midoriya peeked in to look only to be met with bundles of suitcases and clothes strewn all around the room. Todoroki's grip on his arms tightened a bit as he turned to look at his sister. "What's this Fuyumi-nee? Why is the guest room so untidy?"

"Ah you can't let Izuku have this room Shouto. I need to go abroad for my work next week so I'm gathering everything here. It'd be a problem if you asked me to move all of this," replied Fuyumi.

 _What kind of stupid excuse was that?_ thought Todoroki. "Fine. I'll take him to the other guest room then." Saying this Todoroki and Midoriya headed to the second floor only to find the other guest room locked.

"The floor is a bit worn off in that room. I haven't gotten around asking the repairman to fix it yet," explained Fuyumi.

The next room…

"Oh there's a weird smell coming from this room for a long time. I could never really figure out the source."

The next room…

"I totally froze this whole room by accident, sorry! It'll take some time for the ice to melt and even with your fire to help I don't think it's worth risking setting the house on fire or even letting Izuku stay in a damped room."

By the sixth room, Todoroki had gone so silent, Midoriya was almost scared. He glared at his sister. "What's the meaning of this? You knew we would be having a guest stay over. Why are all the rooms unavailable? Did the old man put you up to this? Is he trying to get on my nerves again?" The cold anger in his voice sent shivers down Midoriya's spine.

Fuyumi just smiled. "Hold your horses Shouto. Father never said anything like that. The rooms just happen to be…a bit messed up right now."

Midoriya felt like he had to speak up. After all it was he who was imposing on their hospitality. "Ummm I can stay in the living room or something…it really doesn't matter," he said.

"Absolutely not," hissed Todoroki, tightening his grip on Midoriya's hand.

"I really don't see what the problem is," smiled Fuyumi as she leaned against the wall. "I mean, Izuku can always stay in your room Shouto."

Oh…

 _Ohhhhhh…._

So that was what his sister had planned all along. The realization managed to calm down Todoroki's anger. It was only when Midoriya let out a small yelp that he realized the full implications of what his sister was suggesting.

"After all you're lovers aren't you? It's totally fine with you both, right?" urged on Fuyumi.

Midoriya had never really believed in the whole concept of angels and devils before but the evil smile on Fuyumi's face made him question his beliefs. What should he do? If they insisted on staying in different rooms then it might tip off Fuyumi that something was amiss. They had already agreed that they would not tell Fuyumi the truth about their deal. The less people who knew, the better. Would Todoroki feel like his privacy was being invaded if Midoriya stayed with him in his room? Would Midoriya even be able to survive being in the same room with Todoroki for a week? As these thoughts swirled around his head, Midoriya felt the tight grip Todoroki had on his arm loosen.

Todoroki sighed. There was no way he was going to win this round with his sister. She was one of the most stubborn people he knew. "I'll agree if and only if Izuku is fine with it," he told her and then turned towards Midoriya. "Izuku, if you're even a bit uncomfortable staying in my room please don't hesitate to say so. I'll make sure to salvage one of the guest rooms on that case."

Midoriya was touched by Todoroki's sincerity. He was always looking out for Midoriya and that thought filled him with warmth yet again. He knew he was probably waltzing into the lion's den but…he'd think about that later.

"It's fine with me, Shouto," he smiled.

* * *

Fuyumi Todoroki watched their exchange with a small smile on her lips.

 _Hmmm so that's how it was…_

Her little brother actually thought he'd be able to deceive the eyes of the person who had almost single handedly brought him up after their mother was hospitalized. Two things were already very clear to her.

One, Izuku and Shouto weren't in a romantic relationship.

Two, they were both very much in love with each other yet so oblivious to the signs at the same time.

Fuyumi chuckled.

 _This was going to be fun…_

* * *

 **A/N:** Fuyumi is the devil incarnate! I love her! Hahahahaha XD I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I actually have a few important announcements to make -

1\. The next chapter update will be after a week because I have some really important exams in a few days. I would really like to be fast with my updates but I hope you all won't mind waiting for maybe more than a week for the next chapter.

2\. I have opened a account. So if any of you good people who like my stories wish to become my patrons to support me so that I can continue writing more and more fanfics, I would be really grateful. There are also exclusive -only rewards which I hope you'll like. But of course this is completely voluntary. So if any of you are interested and would like to see more details, I'll leave my username on here - fadedlaughter

And as always I'd love to thank all the lovely people who leave comments on the chapters! You don't know how much it motivates me when I feel down. Take lots of hugs and kisses from me *muahhhh*

Also if you'd like to follow me on twitter or tumblr, I'll leave the links to those as well -  
Twitter: Faded_Laughter  
Tumblr: blog/fadedlaughter707


	6. Chapter 6 : The Little Mishap

**Chapter 6: The Little Mishap**

Midorya hesitantly entered Todoroki's room after him. Sure he had agreed on sharing the room but he still felt pretty self-conscious about it. Todoroki didn't seem to think too much about it so….was he overthinking it again? Setting his bag down on the floor, he looked around the room. It was pretty simple. A bookshelf, study table, closet - nothing really stood out in Todoroki's room. It was clean and contained the bare minimum. Thinking of his own room, filled with All Might posters and figurines, Midoriya felt a bit embarrassed.

"You can keep your clothes and stuff in my closet. I'll free up some space for you," said Todoroki as he opened the closet, rearranging his clothes.

Midoriya thanked him and opened his bag. He hadn't even brought that many clothes to begin with. As he began arranging his stuff, he decided to ask Todoroki the question which was on his mind for a while now.

"Shouto, umm, is Endeavour not here yet?"

"He's probably at his agency or out on patrol. The only positive thing that comes out of him being the number two hero is that he's rarely home. He comes back late at night and leaves early in the morning so we don't have to see his face for too long," replied Todoroki with a steely voice.

 _Shouto always sounds so mean when it comes to Endeavour…well, it's not like he doesn't have a good reason_ , thought Midoriya.

Just then Fuyumi poked her head into the room. "Izukuuuuu-kun," she called in a sing-song manner. "Would you like to help me out in the kitchen?"

Todoroki sighed. "Isn't it rude to make the guest work?"

"Ehhhh but I wanna get to know more about Izuku," pouted Fuyumi. "Don't hog him all to yourself just because he's your boyfriend."

"We've only been alone for, like, 10 minutes," retorted Todoroki.

"Ara ara so you do want to keep Izuku all to yourself, don't you," teased Fuyumi, eyes twinkling.

Before Todoroki could respond Midoriya cut in. "Ahhh it's fine Shouto. I'd love to help Fuyumi-san."

Todoroki caught the smile on his sister's face as she lead Midoriya towards the kitchen. Sighing, he got up to follow them. He couldn't really trust Midoriya alone with his sister. He sat at the table in the dining room keeping his eyes on both of them in the kitchen. Midoriya wore one of his sister's aprons and got to work washing the vegetables. He might have seemed a bit out of place in such unfamiliar surrounding but Todoroki notice how slowly the tension left Midoriya's shoulders and he began to relax, chatting away with Fuyumi. They talked about random topics – school, their classmates and teachers, Midoriya's internship experiences – and Todoroki had never seen his sister look so lively before. Ever since Todoroki started living in the dorms, he regretted leaving his sister all alone to deal with their father. He had always visited during the weekends and the tension in his sister's body was hard not to notice.

But now, seeing Fuyumi look so happy chatting away with Midoriya, made Todoroki smile. He then turned his attention to the green haired boy washing the vegetables and his eyes softened as he regarded him. Midoriya had been a very important part of his life ever since he fought him during the Sports Festival in their first year at U.A. Seeing him getting along with both his mother and sister gave him a sense of relief. Both of them were the only people in his family that mattered to him after all.

After Midorya was done washing the vegetables. Fuyumi asked him to finely dice them up while she started working on the curry. Midoriya eyed the knife in his hand. He wasn't really good with this sort of thing but he didn't want to burden Fuyumi either. Well, it'll be fine as long as he's careful right? As he began lining up the vegetables on the chopping board and carefully cutting them up, he felt an intense gaze behind him. Looking back, he saw Todoroki looking at him with a face he could only describe as fondness. No…it was more intense than that. His face grew hot and his heart started pounding. Their eyes met. And Midoriya sliced his finger on the chopping board.

Almost.

"Ouch!" cried Midoriya in pain as he quickly turned his attention back to where it was supposed to be. All he could see was blood flowing all over the board. He heard two cries of "Izuku!" before Fuyumi was beside him immediately, quickly wrapping a cloth around Midoriya's finger and guiding him towards the washbasin. The water flowed red as Midoriya held his finger under the tap, lightly pressing on his wound. Todoroki came to stand beside him as well.

"I'm so sorry about this Fuyumi-san. I wasn't paying attention and I'm really sorry for getting blood all over your kitchen," apologized Midoriya profusely. He felt so embarrassed. Not only couldn't he do a job as simple as cutting vegetables but he managed to ruin them as well.

"You've got nothing to apologize for, Izuku," consoled Fuyumi, patting Midoriya on his back. "Shouto, would you mind giving Izuku some first aid? I'll clean things up over here."

Todoroki nodded in reply and guided Midoriya back to his room. The blood flow had lessened but Midoriya kept the pressure around his finger just to be safe. Todoroki asked him to sit and went to fetch the first aid kit. Midoriya peeked at him. He hadn't spoken much. What was he thinking? Was he being too much of a bother? As these thoughts swirled around his head, Midoriya felt a soft touch on his hand. Todoroki gently took Midoriya's hand in his own and unwrapped the blood soaked cloth covering his finger. Peeking at it, Midoriya was relieved. It wasn't a deep cut. A little first aid would fix it right up. Todoroki kept mum as he applied medicine on Midoriya's finger. His touch was as soft as a feather. But Midoriya could see the tenseness in his jaw. After bandaging up the finger, Todoroki's hand lingered on Midoriya's.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

"Wha-?"

"You got distracted because of me back then. I'm sorry. I didn't mean for you to get hurt." Todoroki's voice was heavy, chocking back his emotions.

Midoriya looked at Todoroki incredulously. He couldn't believe Todoroki was actually blaming himself for his little accident. Here he was feeling completely embarrassed that he got distracted by Todoroki's gaze on him and almost cut his own finger in half and now Todoroki was apologizing earnestly in front of him. The situation was hilariously stupid and Midoriya burst out laughing.

Todoroki looked up at him in confusion. "Why're you laughing?"

"T-that's because…you…look so serious…..apologizing…pfffft…hahahahaha," breathed out Midoriya while trying, unsuccessfully, to control his laughter. "I was afraid that you were…probably too bothered by me…and here you're…blaming yourself…oh god why can't I stop laughing?"

Midoriya doubled over in laughter, clutching his stomach. His face lit up as he kept on laughing and it blinded Todoroki. He had rarely seen Midoriya with his guard down so much and, right now, he wanted nothing more other than to just imprint the scene in front of him in his mind. He could feel himself loosening up as he looked at Midoriya's face scrunched up in laughter. Fondness for the green haired boy filled his chest. Instinctively his hand raised itself, reaching towards Midoriya's face.

" _Izuku._ "

Midoriya's eyes widened and he finally stopped laughing when he saw Todoroki leaning over, his hand touching Midoriya's cheek. He had never seen Todoroki's eyes look like that before….they were hooded, bursting with emotions which Midoriya couldn't place immediately. But he was caught in those eyes. He couldn't move. Those heterochromatic eyes mesmerized him as they drew nearer, and nearer.

Just as he was about to give in to the atmosphere and let himself get trapped in those eyes, the door to Todoroki's room burst open, breaking the connection. Midoriya turned around and he could almost feel the tension in the room skyrocket. It was as if the temperature of the whole room had dropped a few degrees.

At the door was Endeavour, in his hero costume, glaring down at the two boys in front of him.

"You've got some explaining to do Shouto."

* * *

 **A/N:** A new chapter update! Finally! Well my exams ended and I just couldn't wait to get back on this fic. Sorry for the long wait. Also, yayyyy Endeavour's finally here! I know you guys were probably looking forward to Endeavour's part soon and here it is! I just wanted to get some fluffy TodoDeku out of the way cuz with Endeavour around, our boys are going to have a _little_ problem being all lovey-dovey together.

Also the usual announcements are -  
You can follow me on twitter at Faded_Laughter , on tumblr at fadedlaughter707  
Also if you want to support me, please check out these sites for more info.


	7. Chapter 7 : Endeavour

**Chapter 7 : Endeavour**

Midoriya found himself sitting in between Todoroki and Fuyumi, with Endeavour at the opposite side of the dinner table. While he wasn't intimated by Endeavour's furious glare, he wasn't particularly thrilled to be at the receiving end of it either. Whatever awe he might have had for the number two hero before had been replaced by a cold anger, after Todoroki had opened up to him more about his family, for what he had put them through. He turned his attention back to dinner, opting not to be the first one to break the uncomfortable silence that surrounded them.

Todoroki, however, paid his father no attention as he continued slurping on his cold soba noodles while Fuyumi too seemed to be more interested in the curry before her than in her father who was currently glaring at them with barely contained rage.

It was Endeavour who broke the silence.

"Are you going to explain what it is you're trying to do Shouto?"

Todoroki looked up from his bowl. "I don't understand what you're talking about."

Endeavour slammed his fists on the table, startling Midoriya. "Don't screw around with me boy! You think I don't understand what you're trying to do? You're trying to get out of the marriage interviews and you bring this," pointing towards Midoriya, "boy here just to mess with me!"

Putting his bowl down, Todoroki replied, "If I remember correctly, it was you who said you wanted to meet and evaluate my lover. I don't see why you should be this angry since I have done exactly as you have asked. Izuku will be staying with us for a week. You can evaluate him however much you like. But…" Todoroki's voice became low and Midoriya almost shivered at the icyness in it. "…I couldn't care less about your evaluation. If you so much as hurt a single hair on Izuku's head I'll make sure you regret it till the day you die."

Midoriya couldn't stop the rush of heat to his face at Todoroki's warning, which only grew hotter as he could hear Fuyumi trying to disguise her laughter. Endeavour's face was red for a whole different reason though. The man looked ready to burst in anger. "You dare…! Are you trying to tell me that this _boy_ is your _lover_?"

"This 'boy' has a name and it's Izuku Midoriya. And yes, he's my boyfriend," replied Todoroki calmly.

"I will **NOT** ALLOW THIS!," screamed Endeavour. "You are going to end this nonsense of a relationship right here! Do you realize how badly this will reflect on the Todoroki family? My son? Dating a boy? There's a limit to this joke. You've been nothing but a disappointment since childhood. You WILL marry the girl I will choose for you and you WILL uphold the traditions of the Todoroki family."

 _CRASH!_

Todoroki, Fuyumi and Endeavour were all surprised when they heard the loud crash and turned their eyes towards the source. Midoriya had stood up. His whole body was shaking in anger. His fists were clenched and it was all he could do to control his rage and not punch Endeavour right in his face. He had never felt this kind of anger towards anyone before. It was consuming him. How dare he insult Shouto? How dare he ignore Shouto's opinion and shove his own desires upon him? How…how _DARE_ he consider Shouto a disappointment?! He couldn't take it any longer. When he spoke, his voice was so cold he almost didn't recognize it himself.

"I'm sorry to interrupt your little tantrum Endeavour but I think I've heard enough." He heard a sharp intake of breath from the pro-hero. Still he continued, looking at him straight in the eyes. "Shouto is my boyfriend and I will not just sit quietly and listen while you keep on insulting him. I think I had already told you something when we met at the Sports Festival during the first year. Shouto is not you. I will not allow you to keep on forcing him to do things against his wishes. If you want to do that…well, you'll have to go through me first. Let's go Shouto."

Midoriya grabbed Todoroki's hand and dragged him away from the dining room. His head was throbbing and he could hear his blood pumping. All that mattered to him was to get Todoroki away from that man. To create as much distance between them as possible. He had already familiarized himself with the building so he didn't get lost on his way to Todoroki's room. It was only when they were both inside the room that Midoriya finally stopped and took some deep breaths. His heart was still beating harshly in his chest. It felt similar to an adrenaline rush…which Midoriya guessed, it kind of was actually.

"Izuku?"

Todoroki's voice brought Midoriya back to earth and it was then that he noticed how tightly he had held on to Todoroki's hand. He immediately slackened his grip and withdrew his hand. "I-I'm sorry Shouto! Did I hurt you? Let me see…"

"It's fine Izuku," replied Todoroki, rubbing his hand where Midoriya had gripped him. "It doesn't hurt. But more importantly…are you okay?"

"I…I think I need to sit down for a bit…"

The rage that had consumed Midoriya had started to subside slowly. His head felt clearer. He felt a tap on his shoulder and turning around, he found Todoroki offering him a glass of water. Midoriya accepted it gratefully. The water was cool and he gulped it down in one go. He hadn't even realized he was parched. It was only a few moments later that the gravity of what he had done finally caught up to him.

"Oh god," he groaned, covering his face with his hands. "Oh god oh god I'm so so sorry Shouto. I riled up Endeavour real bad and now he might just take it out on you more. I'm so sorry. I wasn't thinking at all. I was just…furious and I couldn't control my words and I'm –"

A pair of arms wrapped around Midoriya from behind, effectively rendering him speechless. He couldn't even gather the courage to turn his head. "Thank you Izuku," he heard the soft voice close to his ear. "You stood up for me…got angry on my behalf and…it…means a lot to me." Todoroki buried his head on Midoriya's shoulder and his arms around him tightened. " _Thank you_."

The uncontrollable rage that had seized Midoriya subsided and he felt himself relax in Todoroki's embrace. Even though he had been consumed by anger at Endeavour's words, he had meant every single word he said. If Endeavour wanted to bully Todoroki into submission, he'd have to go through Midoriya first. There was no way he was backing out or going down without a fight – metaphorical or physical.

He put his own hand on Todoroki's. "I'll always be there for you Shouto. That's a promise." And it was a promise he would do everything to keep, Midoriya vowed to himself.

* * *

 **A/N:** Heyyyyy everyone it's FadedLaughter here and I wanna thank you soooo much for all the lovely comments you leave after every chapter. Writing feels so worth it sometimes because of you lovely people. Sooo...what do you guys think about Endeavour? And Izuku's outburst? Ahhhh I'm really curious. Angry Izuku makes me soo happy! Let me know what you guys think!

Also you can follow me on social media at  
Twitter : Faded_Laughter  
Tumblr: fadedlaughter707


	8. Chapter 8 : The beginning of the end

**Chapter 8 : The Beginning of the End**

"I have an extra futon you can use," said Todoroki opening his closet and laying out the futon for Midoriya. He then took out his own futon and placed it at a respectable distance away from the other. Meanwhile Midoriya was looking through the selection of pajamas that Todoroki had offered him. They were all a bit too big for him…even the new ones from two years ago. He wondered if he should have just brought his own pajamas, even though they were all All Might themed ones. Then he recalled Endeavour's face at dinner almost bursting with anger and shook his head. His pajamas were too precious to him.

Both of them had hardly kept up much of a conversation after their brief little intimate moment. Midoriya didn't get the chance to even look at Todoroki's face. He had suddenly released Midoriya, spun around and suggested that they go to bed early. Midoriya had agreed to that. He was too busy trying to get his jumbled thoughts to form something coherent….and more importantly, not to faint from overheating.

He finally selected one of the pajamas which wasn't exactly a perfect fit but it was the best he could find. He excused himself to go to the washroom so that he could change his clothes. Todoroki made sure Midoriya was out of the room before he heaved a huge sigh and plonked himself down on his futon. _What the hell was he doing? Was he out of his mind?_ How could he lose his composure and hug Midoriya like that all of a sudden? He wasn't even thinking at that moment. An angry Midoriya was a rare sight and seeing his protectiveness for him and the fact that he stood up to Endeavour – it completely caught Todoroki off-guard and he couldn't help but feel that he was the happiest person on earth at that moment.

 _"I'll always be there for you Shouto."_

Did Midoriya really mean that? The words kept on repeating themselves in his head. What did he mean when he said that? Todoroki had always feared that once they graduated and started their life as pro-heroes, they'd lose touch over the ages. The life of a pro-hero was always busy and didn't leave much time for a social life. His fears were a major part of the reason he couldn't even consider confessing to Midoriya. Both of their goals were to become a top hero. Nothing would change that. He didn't want anything to distract Midoriya from achieving his goal. Would…would Midoriya really be beside him even after they graduate? It seemed too good to be true.

 _'Wait…you're getting ahead of yourself Shouto. Izuku probably didn't even mean it like that. He was probably thinking along the lines of supporting me or somethi- ughhhhhhh this is getting me nowhere!'_

Todoroki couldn't believe he was losing his composure over just a few words. The power Midoriya had over him was scary. His eyes travelled to the clock.

 _'Hmmm Izuku's been gone for a while now. What's taking him so long?'_

Worried that Midoriya might have gotten lost or worse, run into Endeavour, Todoroki got up. He'd have to straighten out his thoughts later.

* * *

 _'This is ridiculous!_ ' thought Midoriya as he looked at himself in the washroom mirror. The pajamas he had chosen were at least two or three years old but still it was a bit big for him. Honestly what happened to his growth spurt? But that wasn't the part that was nagging at him the most. No. The thing that was driving him crazy was how cozy and warm he felt in them. He didn't want to get out of them anytime soon. He just felt like curling up and going to sleep.

Just then his phone rang, interrupting his thoughts. He checked the caller id and smiled. Of course Uraraka would be dying to hear how he was faring. He picked up the call.

"Hey, Urakaka. Did you reach your home safely?"

 _"Yup! We just finished dinner. Mom and dad are so happy that I finally came to visit. I kinda feel guilty hahaha…anyway Deku-kun!..."_ Midoriya could hear her voice rising up a few octaves. _"…how is Todoroki-kun's place? I heard it's hugeee! Are you ok? Did you have dinner? Did you meet his family?"_

Midoriya laughed nervously. "It's actually a long story…."

He related everything that had happened since he arrived at Todoroki's place. When he came to Endeavour's part he kept the explanation to a minimum. He hadn't mentioned the details about Todoroki's past to anyone but everyone knew Todoroki hated his father. It was easy to pass off his reason for getting mad at Endeavour to be just related to him being harsh on Todoroki about Midoriya being his boyfriend. Uraraka kept silent the whole time. After a solid minute had passed since Midoriya finished relating the events, she finally spoke.

" _Deku-kun_ ," she began in an uncharacteristically controlled voice, " _are you telling me that not only are you going to be sleeping with Todoroki-kun in his room for a whole week but you also told off Endeavour, the number two hero in the world, and most likely made an enemy of him?!"_

"I honestly don't care a bit about making an enemy of Endeavour or anything. But…I might be a bit worried about that…ummm…sleeping part though."

Uraraka sighed. Midoriya really had his priorities straight, didn't he?

 _"Deku-kun? I think this might be a really good opportunity for you to confess to Todoroki-kun…"  
_  
Midoriya couldn't help but cut in. "Not that again Uraraka. I told you I…"

 _"Listen to me Izuku!"_

Midoriya stopped. Uraraka rarely called him by his name.

 _"…thank you. Now please listen to what I have to say. Look, I know you're worried about many things relating to your feelings for Todoroki-kun. You're scared he'll reject you. You're scared that even if he does accept, it might not work out eventually and then it'll hurt you. You're scared about losing him. You're scared about leaving yourself vulnerable. You're scared…I get that! But Izuku…you love him. Burying your own emotions is the worst feeling ever. Now that you're going to live with him for some time, it'll only be harder for you. Tell him. It's like ripping off a band-aid. It might seem scary at first but it's for the best."_

"Uraraka…I…"

 _"Do you really want to live your whole life without confessing your feelings to him? Do you want that huge **what if** to be hanging over your head throughout your life? What if you had confessed to Todoroki-kun? What if he had said yes? What if both of you could have a future **together**?_ _Don't you at least want a shot at that future? Tell me Izuku!"_

Midoriya was silent as he ran Uraraka's words in his head. Of course he wanted that future…more than anything. A future where he could be with Todoroki, be by his side forever, laughing together, sharing their joys and pains together….growing old together. He really wanted it. The longing for that future made his heart ache.

"I do," he whispered.

" _Good_ ," sighed Uraraka in relief. She was happy Midoriya was finally willing to even think about the possibility of a future together with Todoroki. Her best friend deserved to be happy and god help anyone who would stand in the way of that…even if it was her best friend himself. " _Now, what are you going to do about your confession?_ "

"C-c-confession, huh…ummm I really d-don't know what to do or say or…ummm….anything really. You kinda just sprung this on me Uraraka!" protested Midoriya mildly.

" _Alright then why don't you practice what you're going to say? I can give you tips and stuff_ ," suggested Uraraka.

"Wha… _now_?"

" _Of course now you dummy. Now imagine that Todoroki-kun is standing right in front of you. How would you confess?_ " Uraraka gently prodded Midoriya.

"Ummm ah….ok give me a second here." Midoriya glanced behind him and made sure he was alone. He then took a deep breath, closed his eyes and imagined Todoroki in front of him. Where would they be? A garden sounds nice. Midoriya could almost picture Todoroki's soft hair swaying lightly as the gently breeze touched it. Surrounded by beautiful trees and flowers…maybe a picnic? They would probably be having a great time together, laughing away with no worries. Midoriya liked how Todoroki's face lit up every time he laughed, how his eyes crinkled and small dimples formed on his cheeks. He could visualize everything. It filled him with so much love and longing.

"Shouto…you're beautiful," he sighed. "You're brave, you're strong and I can't ever seem to get you out of my head. Shouto …. I … I…lo-lov….i….. _oh god my heart's gonna beat out of my chest!_ "

" _Ohhhh Izuku….you were so close. It's just three simple words. You can do it_ ," encouraged Uraraka.

"Do I have to Uraraka? This is so embarrassing!"

" _Come on Izuku. Just three words. Say it out in one breath_."

"Easy for you to say," mumbled Midoriya as he heaved another sigh. That image he had conjured up had already vanished but the feelings it had evoked still remained. That's right. It's just three words. He could do it. Besides he knew how obstinate Uraraka was and she'd never allow him to cut off their conversation without making him say it out loud. He'd better get this over with.

"I love you."

He heard Uraraka cheer from the other end of the phone. " _See?! That wasn't so hard now was it? Now you just have to say those words out loud and clear **without** stammering._"

"I know…thanks Uraraka." Midoriya smiled. What would he do without the constant support of his best friend?

" _Well I finally feel relieved now that you've decided to confess your feelings to him. I can get a good night's sleep now. Goodnight Deku."_

"Goodnight." He ended the call.

Somehow it felt like his mind was finally clear. Uraraka was right. There was no point in being scared of possible scenarios and then regretting something deeply for the rest of his life. He knew deep inside that if he didn't confess to Todoroki, he'd end up regretting it forever.

' _I'll do it sometime this week then. There's no backing out now…_ ' thought Midoriya.

So absorbed was he in his thoughts that he didn't even notice the shadow right outside the washroom door. As he began mulling over how he would go about with his confession, the shadow disappeared, leaving Midoriya all alone to his musings.

* * *

 **A/N:** Like always I'd like to thank all the readers who came across this little story of mine and have decided to spend their precious time on it. It makes me really happy to see people enjoying the story. Just a heads up, updates might get a little scattered right now. I'm actually going through some tough shit at this moment but writing really helps keep me distracted...thank god for that. Thank you every one of you lovely people who leave behind a comment. It's always a pleasure hearing your thoughts. Love you all!

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Twitter - Faded_Laughter  
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	9. Chapter 9 : Misunderstandings

**Chapter 9 : Misunderstandings**

Todoroki could see the washroom lights on. Well at least Midoriya didn't get lost. But what was taking him so long? The door was slightly ajar. Just as he was about to knock, he heard Midoriya's voice.

" _I love you."_

 _What?!_

Todoroki froze. Did he hear that correctly? Did Midoriya just say _I love you_? Who was he talking to? Curiosity got the better of him as he quietly inched forward, peeking in through the small gap. Midoriya was on the phone. 'Oh _…he could have just said that to his mother I guess_ ,' Todoroki tried to reassure himself.

" _I know…thanks Uraraka._ "

It wasn't his mother. Todoroki noticed that his breaths were coming out loud and ragged. He quickly put his hand over his mouth. It wasn't really the time to get caught eavesdropping. He could hear the thudding of his heart in his ears. So that's how it was…Midoriya liked…Uraraka…? He heard Midoriya mumble a goodnight and end the call. He had to get out of there. He couldn't be caught…by _anyone_ …in the state he was in. Turning away he headed back to his room as silently as possible.

* * *

When Midoriya finally came back to the room, he found Todoroki already tucked inside the blankets on his futon. ' _That's strange. Is he already asleep?'_ Midoriya wondered.

"Shouto?" he called out softly.

Todoroki didn't even stir. He must have been more tired than Midoriya thought. Turning off the lights, Midoriya got into his own futon. "Goodnight, Shouto," he whispered as he buried himself in the blankets and fell asleep.

* * *

Todoroki heard Midoriya's whisper of goodnight and soon after the boy's soft snores filled the room. It was a comforting sound but Todoroki was not in any state of mind to be comforted. He knew he shouldn't have chickened out of having a conversation with Midoriya. But his thoughts and emotions were all over the place. Was he really going to have his heart broken before he even had a chance to express his feelings to Midoriya? _Well…not that he was planning to do it anyway…but still…_ he never thought that Midoriya and Uraraka were in a relationship. The two always seemed really good friends to him but, maybe that was just his own wishful thinking. Did he turn a blind eye to the obvious because he wasn't ready to accept Midoriya being in love with anyone else?

When did it begin? Why did Midoriya even agree to this whole fake boyfriend thing if he already had a girlfriend? Even for a guy as helpful as Midoriya, surely that was going a bit too far?

Todoroki glanced at the clock. 2:24am. He hadn't been able to sleep a wink the whole time as he kept tossing and turning in his futon. He buried his face in his pillow and groaned into it, trying to muffle the sound as much as possible. He wasn't sure if he'd be able to survive the rest of the week nursing his broken heart and keeping it a secret from Midoriya. He wished he could talk it out with Yayourozu at least but she was travelling overseas with her family for a few days so he wouldn't be able to get a hold of her either. He couldn't believe he hadn't even thought of the possibility of Midoriya being in love with someone else before. But…of course it shouldn't come as a surprise to him. Everyone in his class adored Midoriya.

As Todoroki's mind swirled with these thoughts, a shaft of pale moonlight fell on his face. He got up silently. There was no way he was going to get any sleep with the tornado raging through his head. He needed some fresh air. He carefully walked out of his room to the garden outside. The garden was really special to him. His mother had loved to spend her time working on the garden. And then there was that one spot where he always went to hide after an especially rough training session with his father – the only place where he allowed himself to nurse his wounds and cry before he could face anyone else so as not to worry them. That was the place where he headed to now. Carefully hidden by bushes all around and guarded by a huge tree, Todoroki finally felt himself relax, taking in the cool refreshing night air. The moonlight blanched atmosphere seemed both mysterious and serene to him. It was peaceful. He didn't even realize when he had drifted off to sleep.

* * *

When Midoriya woke up at five in the morning, he found the futon next to him empty. _Hmmm…did Shouto go to the washroom?_ He got up and stretched. The warm morning sunlight was entering unobtrusively through the window. It seemed like a good day to go out for a morning run.

' _I should invite Shouto as well_ ,' thought Midoriya. ' _We did end the previous day in a pretty awkward manner…maybe a good run will clear up the atmosphere_.'

He went to the washroom but Todoroki wasn't there. ' _Ah well, looks like he might be somewhere else. Might as well freshen up myself…_ '

Fifteen minutes later, having finished his morning routine, Midoriya entered the kitchen. Fuyumi was there preparing breakfast.

"Good morning Fuyumi-san," greeted Midoriya.

"Izuku, good morning! Did you sleep well last night?" enquired Fuyumi.

"Yup! Shouto's clothes are really comfy," he added while his eyes darted around looking for Todoroki.

"Izuku…about last night…I have to apologize on behalf of my father. The way he acted towards you was completely unacceptable. I hope you can forgive us for such rude behavior," Fuyumi said while bowing apologetically in front of Midoriya.

Flustered, Midoriya's hands began flopping around. "N-no ummm please l-lift your head Fuyumi-san! There is r-really no need for you to apologize! I s-should be the one a-apologizing myself! I c-couldn't control my anger and I even ruined the dinner. I-I'm so sorry please forgive me!"

Midoriya could swear he heard Fuyumi chuckle softly. "You're such a sweet boy Izuku," she smiled. "And where is Shouto? Is he still sleeping? I'll let you in on a little secret Izuku. Shouto's always been bad waking up at mornings whenever he's home. The secret…" Her voice dropped down in a dramatic whisper. "…is to pour a whole bucket of ice-cold water on him. That'll wake him right up," she added with a wink.

"Ummm….right….I'll be sure to keep that in mind but…" Midoriya hesitated. "I thought that maybe Shouto was here. He wasn't in the room when I woke up."

Fuyumi frowned. "Well that's unusual. He rarely wakes up before seven when he's home…Izuku? Could you be a darling and search for him? Breakfast is almost ready."

"Sure! Ummm also Fuyumi-san…about Endeavour…will he be joining too?" asked Midoriya, clear hesitation in his voice. He still hadn't figured out how he was supposed to act in front of Endeavour after the stunt he pulled last night. Probably best to avoid him for now.

"You don't have to worry about that old man Izuku." There was a hardness in Fuyumi's voice which, Midoriya noted, was always present when she mentioned her father. "He always leaves for his agency as soon as the sun rises. You won't have to face him again before dinner."

Midoriya sighed in relief. He could probably discuss what to do with Todoroki…once he found him, that is. Taking his leave from the kitchen, Midoriya went about exploring the Todoroki mansion. _Where could Shouto have gone to?_ He came across the training room in the annex building and he couldn't hold back his amazement at how huge the whole thing was…Endeavour really didn't mess around when it came to training huh…

But Todoroki was nowhere to be found inside the building. Midoriya tried calling his cell phone but he found it ringing in their room. Todoroki would never leave his cell phone behind if he went outside. That means that he was inside the compounds somewhere. But where _was_ he? As he was looking around the top floor of the annex building, his eyes fell upon the lush green garden from the window. _Maybe_ …

Midoriya began searching every nook and cranny of the extensive garden. After about ten minutes, he came across a little space, hidden away by the surrounding bushes and trees and in there, tucked away like a baby, was Todoroki, all curled up and asleep. The light wind rustled the leaves of the trees and leaves fell on Todoroki. How long had he been there? Why was he there to begin with? So many questions came to Midoriya's mind but first, he had to wake him up. It was almost eight in the morning – way past Todoroki's normal wake up time.

Gently shaking his body, Midoriya called out to Todoroki. "Shouto…Shouto wake up…" Not even a stir. When even shaking him roughly or calling his name out loud right into his ear didn't work, Midoriya seriously began contemplating on Fuyumi's advice. Was that really the only way to wake him up? As much as his inquisitive mind wanted to know and jot it down in his notebook, he refrained. God knows how long Todoroki was out there sleeping. He was probably cold (though his quirk probably kept his body temperature stable) and it felt wrong to just dump cold water on him. Maybe he should try calling out to him one more time.

"Shouto….Shouto….Sh-SHOUCCHAN WAKE UP!"

 _Oh God_ ….realization hit him as soon as his words left his mouth. Did he just call Shouto 'Shoucchan'?! ' _Please let him not wake up please let him not wake up please let him not wake up'_ , prayed Midoriya, hiding his face in embarrassment. But of course luck was never on his side during these times, was it?

"Izuku?" came the reply from below him. Midorya opened his eyes a bit to find Todoroki rubbing the sleep from his eyes. His disheveled just-been-awoken look captured Midoriya. He wanted to bun this image in his mind forever. The ruffled up hair, the wrinkled sleepwear…it was his first time seeing Todoroki like that. He felt blessed.

"What did you just call me?" asked Todoroki.

And Midoriya came crashing back to reality from his daydreams. Right… _Shoucchan_ …how could he possibly explain this? "Ummm well ahhh you see….I thought that a nickname w-would help make us seem more close as boyfriends so…"

"Oh…I see," replied Todoroki. He got up and shook the dead leaves from his body.

 _Hmm? Something seemed a bit off…._

"You don't have to go that far Izuku. I know you're a perfectionist but there's no point working so hard for this…after all it's just a charade…" Todoroki's voice was surprisingly cold.

 _Something was definitely wrong…_

"S-Shouto? I'm s-sorry if you didn't like the nickname. I won't call you that anymore." Midoriya couldn't disguise the little hurt that he felt from Todoroki's words. He also couldn't figure out what was wrong.

Todoroki detected the hurt in Midoriya's voice. It felt like someone was ripping out his heart once again. But he had already made his decision last night. Now that he knew about Midoriya's relationship, he would keep his distance from him. If only he had known before he asked Midoriya for the favour…but what's done is done. He'd have to hide his heartbreak just for a week. He'd only have to keep up a cheerful façade for a week…just a week. He could do that…right? No…he'd have to do it.

Todoroki gave Midoriya a smile and said, "No it's not that. I just don't want to burden you anymore. Let's go. I need to freshen up." He started walking towards the house without even waiting for Midoriya.

As Midoriya watched Todoroki's retreating back he whispered, ' _That was the fakest smile you have ever made Shouto…_ ' It hurt him to be on the receiving end of that smile. Confused by Todoroki's sudden change in attitude, Midoriya quietly followed him back to the house. He'd have to get to the bottom of this.

* * *

 **A/N:** Hellooooo everyone! It's been a week huh...maybe I should update weekly from now on? At least then you'll all know when to expect a new chapter. What do you guys think? Ohhhh and yayyyy let the misunderstandings begin! Lol I love teasing and tormenting my boys Midoriya and Todoroki. They're too precious to not tease.

Lotssssssssss of love to everyone who has favourited/followed/commented on this little story of mine. It makes me ecstatic reading your thoughts.

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	10. Chapter 10 : Counter

**Chapter 10 : Counter**

Breakfast was a silent affair. Todoroki sat across from Midoriya beside his sister and hardly spoke two words besides his usual morning greeting to Fuyumi. What little conversation Midoriya tried to drag out of Todoroki fell flat with him giving one or two word answers. Even Fuyumi's attempts at eliciting a decent response from Todoroki failed miserably. The mood was somewhat uncomfortable.

Fuyumi, for the life of her, couldn't figure out what had gotten into her little brother. From the looks that she shared with Midoriya, it was clear that the other boy had no clue as well. _Why the hell is he being such a big sour puss?_ Things had seemed to be moving along pretty smoothly since yesterday. Midoriya's outburst during dinner had further strengthened her belief that he was very much in love with her brother. With what had happened, she would have thought both of them had grown closer. _Gee, was she wrong…_

"Thanks for the food," mumbled Todoroki as he got up and took his utensils to the washbasin to rinse. It was his turn to wash the dishes after all. Midoriya quickly gulped down his remaining portion and headed over to Todoroki. "Here, let me help too," he offered.

Todoroki silently took Midoriya's dishes and replied in a mechanical voice, "You don't have to. It's rude to make the guest do the dishes."

Midoriya had had enough of Todoroki's cold treatment. He grabbed the towel and began wiping off the water from the washed plates. "You do the dishes and I'll dry them. That way it'll be quicker. Besides I wanted to train with you for a bit. Let's finish this up quickly and go to that training room I found earlier."

Todoroki was a bit surprised by Midoriya's assertiveness. He chided himself. Perhaps he was being too harsh? He needed to be normal. Otherwise Midoriya would suspect his behavior. He couldn't avoid him forever when they were living under the same roof after all. "Fine," he mumbled, handing over the rinsed dishes to Midoriya. The boy smiled, glad over his little victory. But that smile disappeared soon. He was worried about Todoroki but it seemed like Todoroki himself wasn't ready to confess as to what was bothering him. Midoriya wasn't really the type of person to pry into people's affairs if they were unwilling to share but…this was _Todoroki_ …and the sudden change in behavior was very concerning. He'd give him some time. If Todoroki didn't broach the subject after that specified time, he'd bring it up himself. He really wanted to see Todoroki smile again.

Fuyumi Todoroki smiled, looking at the boys. She was glad that Midoriya wasn't cowed by Todoroki's cold behavior. Her brother had become a very closed off person ever since the _accident_. The little friends that he had back then slowly distanced themselves when he had refused to talk to them like before. They had been too intimidated by his attitude and it hurt Fuyumi to see her little brother, all alone and friendless, training day and night under the harsh routine their father subjected him to. It was only after the Sports Festival during his first year at U.A did Fuyumi notice the slight changes in him. He seemed more relaxed and approachable. He had even gone to visit their mother for the first time since that fateful day. Slowly, he had started taking steps forward. And Fuyumi was proud of him.

But sometimes - like right now, for example - her brother had a habit of acting like a total and complete _idiot._ She'd have to think of a way to help Midoriya.

* * *

"This hall is huuuugeeeee," cried Midoriya in wonder. Todoroki and he had arrived at the training room in the annex building for a workout. Even if they were on a break, everyone was expected to keep up their personal trainings. There was no room for slack. The training hall was really impressive. In one corner there were all sorts of equipments both for physical training and quirk training. From squat racks, barbells, bench presses, dumb bells to cables and pulleys, hyper extension benches, smith machines – Midoriya's eyes sparkled as he looked at them. But what caught his eye most was the vast empty space taking up 70 percent of the training room. It was meant for one on one combat and right now he really felt like having a spar with Todoroki.

"Come on Shouto. Let's burn some calories," said Midoriya, taking up his position.

Todoroki sighed. Fine, if it's a spar Midoriya wanted, it's a spar he'll get. "Don't come crying to me if you lose," he retorted.

An hour later, Midoriya and Todoroki both lay on the floor panting.

"Let's call it a draw?" breathed out Midoriya as he tried to move his aching body. He was getting better at one on one combat without using his quirk but he was nowhere near Todoroki's finesse. Still, he felt proud having held his own ground for an hour.

"A draw it is," groaned Todoroki as he pushed his body off the ground. Midoriya had improved vastly in his combat techniques within the past two years. Whereas before Todoroki could defeat him easily within twenty minutes, now he actually had to be calculative and unpredictable about his moves to ward off Midoriya. He couldn't have any set pattern to his fighting style. Midoriya would figure it out immediately and come up with a counter strategy on the spot.

"Whooo we got all sweaty huh…I guess we should take a bath first," suggested Midoriya from somewhere behind Todoroki. He turned around to face him before replying…and never regretted his life decisions so much before as he was regretting them right then. Midoriya had taken off his t-shirt and was using it to rub the sweat off his face. Todoroki couldn't take his eyes off the toned body in front of him. How the hell did he hide those muscles under that flimsy t-shirt?! He knew Midoriya trained hard every single day and that was bound to show in his body…but was Todoroki prepared for it? Absolutely not. He could feel his whole face getting hotter as his eyes kept on creeping down Midoriya's toned chest…to his stomach…even below… _NO!_ Todoroki mentally slapped himself, forcing his eyes away from Midoriya. This is wrong. He had already decided to let his feelings fizzle out. He couldn't be ensnared again. _Goddammit Shouto get a grip on yourself!_

Did Midoriya notice? Todoroki braved another glance at Midoriya. No, he was busy looking at the bench presses. Thank god he had worn his t-shirt back on. "Izuku," he called out to him. "You go ahead and take a bath. I'll go after you."

"Alright Shouto!" nodded Midoriya as he left the training room. Todoroki waited a while to clear his mind before he headed back to his room.

When Todoroki came out of the bath, he found Midoriya chatting away with Fuyumi in the main living room. "Don't you have work Fuyumi-nee?" enquired Todoroki.

"I told you I have to go abroad next week. I've taken a bit of a holiday for this week to prepare for the seminar I have to attend," replied Fuyumi. "Besides I've got good news for you. I got a call from father's office a few minutes ago. There's been some new situation regarding villains which he has to look into. It sounded really serious but anyway, the main point is, he won't be coming home tonight."

Todoroki sighed in relief. Well that's one good thing.

"Fuyumi-san and I were discussing how we can make full use of this opportunity," piped in Midoriya. "I suggested some games."

"And I think we should do a movie night," stated Fuyumi. "What do you want to do?"

Todoroki thought for a bit. He wasn't particularly interested in either. Both of them meant spending more time with Midoriya. "I'm not sure. I'll leave it up to you," he mumbled.

Fuyumi immediately turned to Midoriya. "Come onnn Izuku! Ok let's do one thing – we'll settle this with a coin toss."

Todoroki glanced at his sister.

"That seems fair," answered Midoriya.

"Alright! I'll take Heads. Aaaand toss!" All three of them eyed the coin as it rose in the air and then landed perfectly on Fuyumi's palm. "And the winner is…ME! Movie night it is then. Come on let's go see what movies we have stacked around."

As the three of them got up to prepare for the movie night, Todoroki came up behind Fuyumi and whispered "You used that fake coin didn't you? I could never win a toss match with you whenever you picked the coin."

Fuyumi giggled and winked at him. "I don't know what you're talking about Shouto."

Todoroki sighed in exasperation. His sister really was the devil, wasn't she? But…it wasn't like her to force her decision on someone… _what was she planning this time?_ A slight sense of dread filled him. He was probably overreacting but when it came to his sister, he could never be too sure. Why did it feel like they had just walked into her trap?

* * *

 **A/N:** Hehe this chapter is actually a bit of a surprise for my readers. I did say I'd stick to a weekly schedule but I wanted to get this chapter out as a little Christmas gift to you all. I hope you like it ^_^ A Merry Christmas everyone!  
P.S. I'll stick to my previous announcement of keeping the chapters weekly so you guys can expect a new chapter on Friday again. This is just a little Christmas present on my behalf to show how much I love you all 3

You can follow me on Twitter and Tumblr as well for the latest update news and just me whining away XD  
Twitter: Faded_Laughter  
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	11. Chapter 11 : It's Movie Night !

**Chapter 11 : It's Movie Night !**

"Why do you have so many animation movies?" asked Midoriya incredulously as the three of them tried to decide which movies they should pick. They had a lot to choose from but all the movies were either Disney or Pixar movies! From Walt Disney's 1937 adaptation of _Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,_ to _Pinocchio_ , _Peter Pan_ , _Alice in Wonderland_ , _Toy Story, Finding Nemo, Monsters. Inc, Frozen, The Little Mermaid, Bolt, Tangled, Brave, The Incredibles_ – this was the last thing Midoriya could have expected to find in the Todoroki household. Even Todoroki looked shocked.

"Hehehe well you see…there's a valid explanation for this. I happened to slip up to my colleagues that neither I nor my brother had seen any animated films when they were discussing whether _Frozen_ or _The Incredibles_ was the most popular. To say that they were shocked would be an understatement. Next thing I knew they were bringing these animation movie DVDs for me. I gotta admit it was kinda embarrassing," laughed Fuyumi nervously.

"You've got weird colleagues," muttered Todoroki as he picked up a DVD.

"N…not a single one?!" came a surprised voice beside Todoroki. He turned around to see Midoriya looking at them with shock apparent in his face. _Was it really that weird?_ he wondered. Midoriya's expression suddenly changed from bewilderment to determination. "If that's true then we'll have to rectify this situation immediately. It'll be an animation movie binge tonight!" he declared.

"We've still got homework to do," said Todoroki. He was the type of person who completed their homework within the first few days of their breaks. No point putting it off until later.

"We can get to that after we've picked out the movies. Then we can do homework after lunch and start the movie night after we've completed them," suggested Midoriya.

Todoroki sighed. How was he supposed to act distant from Midoriya when his own heart was beating crazy at the prospect of spending more time with him? Maybe he should just talk to him…but…what will happen if Midoriya found Todoroki's feelings to be weird and disgusting?

"…to?"

Being the kind of person that he is, he would probably never say anything to his face but there was no doubt a certain awkwardness would creep in. Would Midoriya even see him as his best friend again?

"…outo?"

No…he couldn't lose his friendship. It was too much of a risk. What should he do? How could he keep his composure?

"Shouto! Quit spacing out!" A sharp slap on his head broke him out of his reverie.

"Ou! What the…what the hell was that for Fuyumi-nee?" cried out Todoroki.

"Izuku's been calling you for a while now and you've been staring at that _Little Mermaid_ DVD for a while now. Thought you needed a wake up call," answered Fuyumi simply as she began stacking the DVDs in a box. Looks like Fuyumi and Midoriya had already selected the movies. Midoriya hesitantly approached Todoroki.

"Ummm Shouto if you want to watch that one then we can add it to the list as well."

Todoroki looked down at the DVD he had clutched in his hand. _The Little Mermaid_ …sure why not? He didn't know much about the movies anyway. Handing it to Midoriya, he got up and left the two of them to sort everything out. Once he was sure that he was out of earshot, he dialed a number.

 _The number you have called is currently unreachable. Please try again later…_

Sigh. Well, it didn't come as a surprise to him. Yayourozu probably won't be back till a few more days. He'll just have to bear it on his own then. Light footsteps immediately alerted him of someone else's presence as he hid away his cell phone.

"Shouto? What are you doing here?"

"I was just making a call, Fuyumi-nee," answered Todoroki.

"Is there something you would like to share with me?" asked Fuyumi, holding Todoroki's gaze. He didn't like the way she looked at him. It seemed as if she could decipher the black thorns curling around in his heart with one look. It's not like he didn't trust his sister but he felt like if she knew it'll only make the whole situation more complicated.

"I don't think so," he muttered as he walked past her, ignoring the piercing stare he could feel in his back.

* * *

Midoriya returned to Todoroki's room, after helping Fuyumi sort out the movies, and took out his homework. They had received quite a lot to compensate from a week long's absence from class. Maybe he should start with his weakest subject? As soon as he was on his first trigonometry question, the door to the room opened and Todoroki entered, looking a little flustered.

"Shouto, is everything okay?" asked Midoriya concernedly.

"It's fine." Todoroki avoided eye contact as he sat down opposite Midoriya and started working on his own homework. Silence followed, broken only by the scratching of pens as they worked out the sums. Midoriya couldn't help but sneak a glance at Todoroki at times. He really needed to talk to him. But he didn't want him to lose his concentration either. It was only when Todoroki heaved a sigh and stood up to stretch that Midoriya gathered up the courage.

"Shouto?" he called him timidly.

"Yes?" came the reply.

"Something's bothering you."

"…that's not a question…?"

"It's not. I know something's bothering you. Please…please just talk to me," pleaded Midoriya, looking up at Todoroki with an intensity he wasn't prepared for.

He wanted to… _oh how he wanted to just talk it out with Midoriya._ But he couldn't shake off the thought of what would happen if Midoriya took it negatively. It would break him completely if he were to lose his friendship too. He couldn't…no…he _wouldn't_ let it happen.

"Nothing's bothering me," he replied, making sure not to look into the freckled boy's eyes. Midoriya would see the guilt eating him away if he did. "Anyway are you done with your English homework? There's something I need to crosscheck," he added in a desperate attempt to change the subject.

From the corner of his eyes he could see Midoriya's shoulders slump down as he began searching for his English notebook. The topic was not brought up again.

* * *

After a quick lunch and slaving on their 'Quirk Enhancers: A Boon or Menace' paper due next week, both of them wrapped up their homework for the day. Midoriya looked at the clock – 6:50pm. They had managed to finish up in good time. After stacking away their books and assignments, Todoroki and Midoriya headed to the living room. Fuyumi had gone out to do some shopping while they were working on their homework and they were greeted by a feast spread out before them. Midoriya's favourite katsudon, Todoroki's favourite cold soba – Fuyumi really had gone out of her way.

"Oh you guys done already? Great timing. Help me set up the remaining dishes, would you?" called out Fuyumi as she entered the room balancing plates on both hands.

"Fuyumi-san…don't you think this is a bit too much?" enquired Midoriya as he eyes the various dishes spread out before him.

"On the contrary I think it's still too little. Come on we're gonna take full advantage of that shitty old man's absence today!" Fuyumi replied with a slight slur in her words. Her movements seemed a bit unstable to Midoriya as he rushed forward to take the plates in her hand.

Todoroki frowned. "Are you drunk?"

"Hmmmm maybe a little bit?" laughed Fuyumi. "But don't worry about that. It's nice to let loose once in a while."

Todoroki shot her a disapproving glance but he couldn't find it in his heart to chide his older sister. After all, living with their father all alone inside this house…maybe she was the one who really needed the break.

After setting out the cushions and the table filled with food, all three of them sat down in front of the television. Midoriya sat in the middle with Todoroki to his right and Fuyumi to his left. Todoroki didn't know what to expect from the movie night. He had seen the popularity of some of these English animated movies when he went by the theatres where kids lined up till the next block to catch the shows. He never understood the appeal though. It seemed Midoriya had taken it upon himself to educate them on the history of the animation studios, the myths related to the movies and every little bit of information he could conjure up from that brain of his. He listened with rapt attention. It was always interesting to see Midoriya during one of these moments. The sheer excitement in his eyes was contagious.

By the fourth movie, Todoroki found himself becoming too emotionally invested in the characters and their stories, singing alongside Midoriya and Fuyumi to the popular songs even though he wasn't familiar with the lyrics and commenting on the quality of villains in the movies. He had never felt like this before. It filled him with a warmth he couldn't identify. There were so many things he had never got to experience in his childhood that it was only after maybe watching movies with friends or attending sleepovers that he finally realized how deprived he had been.  
Before they could start the fifth movie, Fuyumi let out a yawn and got up. "Well I'll have to retire for tonight boys. My head's splitting open."

"That's because you drank so much alcohol. Just because you won't have work and dad is not home you shouldn't behave so irresponsibly," quipped in Todoroki which resulted in him getting a flick of Fuyumi's fingers on his forehead.

As Todoroki turned his attention to nursing his injury, Midoriya asked, "Should we wrap up the movie night then?"

"Oh no no no don't wrap up on my account," answered Fuyumi in a rush. "You guys finish up and Shouto, make sure you clean up before heading to bed. Goodnight Izuku." Midoriya could swear he heard a little whisper of "you devil" from Shouto beside him.

"So…shall we continue?" asked Midoriya looking at Todoroki. He didn't want to stop and Todoroki seemed to be having a good time too. Maybe it'll help improve his mood?

"I don't see why not. It's Fuyumi's fault for not keeping a check on her drinking. Let's go with this one now. I heard that it was quite a rage in the west some time back," he said handing Midoriya the _Frozen_ DVD.

"Alright! Frozen it is then."

By the time the movie was halfway through, Midoriya felt a shiver run down his back. The temperature had dropped significantly since the previous night. Or was he feeling colder because of all the snow in the movie? As he snuggled into the blanket he had wrapped around himself, he found himself unconsciously moving closer to Todoroki. Midoriya was sitting right next to his left side and the warmth almost seemed to be inviting him closer. It was way past 2am and sleep was threatening to take over him. His eyes kept on drooping to the point where he missed significant chunks of the movie before his consciousness came back to him again. Peeking a glance at Todoroki, he found him completely engrossed in the movie without even acknowledging the drop in temperature. Turning his attention back to the movie, Midoriya prayed he wouldn't fall asleep before the movie ended.

Todoroki's attention from the movie was disrupted when he felt ticklish around his neck and a weight on his left shoulder. Turning his head he found Midoriya, curled up against his left side in a blanket, fast asleep. Before he could spontaneously combust and possibly burn Midoriya alive, he forced himself to assess the situation calmly. It was 2:40am – way past their usual bedtime. Of course Midoriya would get sleepy. He should wake him up. It must not be comfortable sleeping like that. As soon as he began lightly shaking Midoriya, the boy clung to his left arm even harder and rubbed against him, sighing in content.

 _'Keep calm, keep calm, keep calm, roses are red, violets are blue, Bakugo is an asshole too…'_ Todoroki forced his mind to focus on anything other than the green haired boy beside him. But a slight shiver from Midoriya called his attention back to him immediately. Was he shaking? It was only then did he notice that the air seemed more chilly than usual. Normally he didn't have to worry too much about weather changes because of his quirk but…was it really that cold? The second shiver running up Midoriya's spine answered that question for him. The flimsy blanket he had on wasn't helping much. He needed to get him into bed before he caught a cold.

"Izuku…wake up…Izuku" He tried shaking him awake but Midoriya held onto his arm stubbornly without showing any hints of waking up. _Since when did he become his personal heater?_ After trying in vain to wake him up for ten minutes straight, Todoroki gave up. He didn't know Midoriya was such a deep sleeper. But…he was still shivering. What should he do?

Trying not to move too much, Todoroki took a quick look around him. There were some extra blankets near him which he gathered up and wrapped around Midoriya. He couldn't help but blush when Midoriya let out another contented sigh and made himself more comfortable, holding the boy's left arm in both of his. Midoriya's head was resting on his shoulder and Todoroki swore he could almost make out his heartbeats. Soon, he found himself staring at Midoriya's face. He had never seen him from up so close before. The unruly mop of green hair was surprisingly soft as he ran his fingers through it. He then began tracing Midoriya's cheekbones, his fingers ghosted over those freckles he loved so much. Lastly, he stopped at the corner of his lips. They were parted slightly in an O as he breathed through them. Todoroki wondered how those lips would feel…were they as soft as they looked? What…would they _taste_ like? He found his face moving closer and closer, gravitating towards those lips which demanded all his attention.

" _I love you."_  
" _I know…thanks Uraraka._ "

He stopped millimeters away. The hollowness in his heart which he had been trying so hard to hide came back again in full force. That's right…he couldn't allow himself to have thoughts like that anymore. He knew that… _he knew that but_ …He looked at Midoriya again.

" _This is the first and last time I'll indulge a little bit…I'm sorry Izuku_ ," he whispered as he leaned forward and dropped a light peck on his forehead. " _I'll always love you, no matter what."_

* * *

 **A/N :** Oh ho looks like this was my biggest chapter yet. And I even made it in time for my weekly deadline! Wohooooo! So what did you guys think about this chaper? Let me know in the reviews ;)  
P.S: Don't worry my dear reader superpants. Even if you did accidentally leave a review as a Guest, I figured out immediately that it was you. Your enthusiasm just shines through in every review. Thank you so much for your support ^_^

You can follow me on Twitter and Tumblr as well for the latest update news and just me whining away XD  
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	12. Chapter 12: The Wheel of Fate is Turning

**Chapter 12 : The Wheel of Fate is Turning**

It was warm…so warm…

Midoriya didn't recognize the place he was in. It was all a blur but he could feel it…feel the warmth that was surrounding him. It wasn't suffocating. It filled him with a sense of peace, of tranquility and safety. And most of all…it surrounded him with a warm gentle fondness and love. It felt so good to be there. He never wanted to leave that place. He didn't know if he was conscious or asleep. It seemed like he was somewhere in between. He could feel himself wrapped up snugly and holding onto something warm. But he couldn't see what it was. He didn't even care. He just wanted to stay there forever.

Someone was whispering something…their voice broke Midoriya's heart. It sounded so sad and lonely. He wanted to reach out towards that voice. He wanted to help that voice…what was the voice saying? He couldn't make out the words. But soon he felt something warm and soft press against his temple.

Why was did it feel like his heart was about to burst out in both happiness and despair? Who was it…? _Whose voice was it …?_

* * *

Midoriya woke up to find himself wrapped up comfortably in a blanket. It felt so cozy he almost went back to sleep. Through his haze-filled mind, he tried to remember the vague dream he had at night. Somehow it seemed really important. Also… _when did he fall asleep?_ He looked over to the side.

…and almost screamed out.

Todoroki's face was right next to him…scratch that…he was resting his head on Todoroki's shoulder! His body reacted before his brain could catch up and he tried to put as much distance as possible between them. Only…he couldn't. Todoroki had wrapped his left arm around his body and Midoriya was literally curled up beside him. He couldn't break off the grip Todoroki had on him.

 _How had he gotten himself into this mess?_

Fortunately for him, his stirring had woken up Todoroki and the arm around him loosened a bit. As Todoroki slowly rubbed his eyes Midoriya thought it best to start a conversation before things became too awkward again.

"Ummm ah S-Shouto! Good m-morning! Wow, the movie night was great huh…I can't believe I f-fell asleep before we even f-finished the movie. Hahaha…" His laughter died away as Todoroki looked at him contemplatively.

"I suppose I enjoyed it quite a bit myself. Good morning Izuku," he greeted him as he slowly turned his neck side to side. Sleeping on the couch had not been easy on his neck. "Did you sleep well?"

"Ah ummm yes I suppose. It really was the most comfortable sleep I had in a while….AHHH not that I mean anything else by it…ummm I mean…it got really cold huh…I think…ummm….ya I guess that's why I was sitting so c-close to you…ahh…I'm really sorry about falling asleep on you!" apologized Midoriya, hoping Todoroki couldn't notice the blush on his cheek.

"Don't worry about it," answered Todoroki as he got up from the sofa.

Midoriya slowly lifted his head. Why was he feeling a sense of déjà vu when he heard Todoroki's tone as he said those words? It was that same feeling of sadness and melancholy as… _what was it?_ It was almost on the tip of his tongue. Todoroki was smiling but, if anything, that was the saddest smile he had ever seen him make.

"Shouto, wha-"

"Do you wanna go for a run before we have breakfast? My body is aching a bit," interrupted Todoroki before Midoriya could even form his words. He got the vague feeling that Todoroki wanted to avoid the subject but… _how long was he willing to respect Todoroki's needs?_ He had been scared and embarrassed out of his mind at the thought of spending the week with Todoroki but never did he imagine that the distance between them, which had shrunk to non-existence since their first year, would increase ten-fold within just 2 days.

"….sure." It was all Midoriya could say.

They put on their tracksuits and went out for a jog around the block. Keeping up a steady pace, they came across a park an hour later. The place was filled with children playing about. Midoriya slowed down his pace. "Shouto, could we stop for a break here?" he asked.

Todoroki stopped in his tracks and turned around. Midoriya's eyes were fixated on the children and there was a hint of nostalgia in his eyes. "Sure I suppose."

They stood side by side under the shade of a tree as they observed the children running about. Neither of them spoke but the silence between them wasn't as oppressive or uncomfortable as it was recently. It was Midoriya who broke the silence first.

"You know…this reminds quite a bit of the time I spent playing around with Kacchan. See that kid dribbling the ball? Kacchan used to be a pro at that…even when he was just four years old! Ahhh this really brings back a lot of memories…" sighed Midoriya.

"Hmmm…was this before he started being a complete ass and kept on bullying you?" Todoroki's voice was a little cold. No matter how much Midoriya considered Bakugo to be one of his friends, Todoroki could never forgive him for all the wounds, both physical and mental, that he had inflicted upon Midoriya.

"Hehe…ya I guess. You're pretty harsh when it comes to Kacchan you know?"

"…"

Silence again. Todoroki didn't know how to follow up with the conversation. Midoriya was unusually quiet as he kept on watching the children. He seemed to be deep in thought. Were his memories with _Kacchan_ really that important to him? He felt a piercing stab of jealousy. No no no no no he couldn't be jealous of that guy of all people. He'd never stoop that low. There was no other choice. He had to get over Midoriya - for the sake of his heart and his sanity.

Yes…he only had that _one_ option left.

He decided to tell Midoriya his decision that night.

* * *

After he had pointed out the boy dribbling the ball to Todoroki, Midoriya's eyes immediately fell upon a boy, probably around five, huddled in one corner of the park with a book in his hand. For some reason, Midoriya couldn't tear his eyes away from him. The little boy had his eyes glued to his book but occasionally he would peek up and look at the other kids running around. But no one seemed to want to approach him. The longing in his eyes were as clear as day. Should he go up to the boy?

Suddenly another kid with dark brown hair came running up to the boy and began to pull him along. Midoriya could hear the high pitched voice of this new kid from where he was standing.

"Hey come onnnnnn we need one more player on our team! You want to play too right? Let's gooooo," he shouted as he dragged the surprised boy to his team.

Midoriya smiled. It reminded him so much of how he had to basically drag Todoroki to his table during their lunch breaks, to class outings and even to the mall or the movies. It had taken some time but Todoroki soon got comfortable with the company around him. Midoriya could feel his thoughts becoming clearer and clearer. What had he been so afraid of all this while? His best friend was clearly having some issues. Sure he wanted to wait until Todoroki felt comfortable enough to tell him. But that didn't mean he'd be willing to wait forever as he saw him hurting. He needed to talk to him. There was no point holding it off any longer.

He decided to do it that very night.

* * *

 **A/N:** Ohhhhhhh finally an update! I'm sorry for the delay guys. I actually had to rewrite this chapter 3 times! When I completed it the first time, I looked over it and then I thought something was missing. So I rewrote it again...and then deleted the whole chapter cuz I just wasn't happy with it. And now finally the chapter has been born today. Even though it's a bit short, I've sorted out how to proceed from here onwards so look forward to some good chapters ahead. Also...I kinda wanna end it at chapter 15 so...3 more chapters to go people! Gear up!

Also thank you all you lovely people who have left comments on this fanfic. Thank you for following it too. Love you all 3 3

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Twitter : Faded_Laughter  
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	13. Chapter 13 : No Going Back

**Chapter 13 : No Going Back**

The boys discovered a note left by Fuyumi once they returned home, explaining that an emergency had occurred in her workplace so she'd be returning home late. The house seemed unusually big and quiet without her. The day passed without much incident. No hugs, no awkward silences, no accidentally falling asleep on each other…Todoroki almost seemed back to normal, thought Midoriya… _almost._ But that didn't stop the butterflies in his stomach when he thought about the confrontation he had planned for the night.

The hours passed quicker than either of the boys had anticipated. Midoriya couldn't stop fidgeting with his hands. Maybe he should really look into that fidget spinner he was planning to buy… _anyway_ …there's no better time than the present. Todoroki was facing away from him, cleaning the dishes as Midoriya put away Fuyumi's portion of dinner in the refrigerator. Taking a deep breath, Midoriya tried to calm the butterflies in his stomach. _Here goes nothing…_

"Shouto…"

"Izuku…"

Both of them spoke up at the same time. Taken aback, they both stared at each other for a second. Midoriya recovered first.

"Ahhh I'm sorry Shouto. Were you trying to say something?"

"Yes but…you go first…"

"No no it's alright. Mine can wait. What did you want to say Shouto?" Midoriya asked encouragingly. Todoroki had a serious expression on his face. His eyes were hooded. Midoriya's nervousness increased. Was Todoroki finally going to open up to him? He clenched his fingers in anticipation.

Todoroki was silent for a minute. Then he let out a sigh, and focused his eyes at a stain on the floor. He couldn't look Midoriya in the eyes. _He'd have to survive through this…he couldn't break down…_

He finally spoke. "Izuku, I…I've been thinking about something for a while and…and I believe that…I have come to my decision.

Midoriya frowned in confusion. _What_ _decision?_

Todoroki continued. "I've decided…that I'm going to accept my father's proposition about finding a suitable partner for myself." He let it out all in one breath. _There…it's finally done._ He was afraid to lift his head. What expression did Midoriya have on his face now? What was he thinking? Was he confused? Of course he would be…Todoroki had asked him to help out just so he could escape from the situation he was willing to dive into now! But all he was greeted with was silence.

A few minutes passed…and then some more. It felt like an eternity to Todoroki. The silence was unbearable. Just when he was about to glance at Midoriya, he was startled at the sudden loud noise of the front door opening. Endeavour walked in bearing cuts and bruises all over his body. His face was unreadable as he hurried upstairs to his office without even glancing at either of them.

"What's happened to you?" called out Todoroki. No response. Well, not that Todoroki was very hopeful of one anyway. But it was rare to see his father bruised so much. He looked at Midoriya and was surprised to see a frown on his face as he glanced at his cellphone.

 _"_ _This is really bad if this news is true then…but what about the other heroes? Is the situation really that bad? This is getting out of hand did the heroes know about this wait maybe the league of villains are involved but we took care of most of them does that mean Shigaraki found more recruits but wait there's no proof that they are involved but by the gravity of the situa-"_

Midoriya had started muttering, his eyebrows knitted in concentration. "Izuku!" Todoroki had to shout out his name to get his attention.

Midoriya stopped. It took him a while to finally look at Todoroki in the eyes. "S-shouto there's a really bad situation in the city. Looks like there's been a coordinated attack by the villains. Seems the yakuza are involved as well. According to the reports, there's…ummm…some kind of abnormality about the villains. The heroes are having a hard time pushing them back. Maybe that's why En-"

Midoriya halted when he heard footsteps descend the stairs. Endeavour headed towards the entrance with some kind of gadget in his hand. He was well known for not relying on any gadgets or enhancers and just using his brute strength and quirk. The fact that he came back home just to retrieve one spoke volumes about the seriousness of the situation.

"I'm going too," Todoroki suddenly addressed the retreating back of Endeavour.

Endeavour stopped.

"What did you just say boy?"

"I said, I'm going to help too. I have my provisional license now and the reports say the heroes are having a hard time. The more hands the bett-"

"I want to go too!" joined in Midoriya. "I can't just sit back when I know there's something I can do to make a situation better."

Endeavour looked at them incredulously. "Don't they teach anything at UA these days? Just because you have a provisional license doesn't mean you can actively go seeking out villains to fight. That's against the rules and you can have your license revoked. It's only to validate a self-defense situation. Now stop wasting my time."

"But you took me to Hosu during my first year!" shouted Todoroki.

"That was different. You were interning under me. If you remember, you even received a warning about using your quirks against permission. Now both of you just stay put. I don't have time to deal with your childish tantrums," said Endeavour as he walked out the door.

"…he's right," spoke up Midoriya after a while. "We can't just rush in without supervision."

"I know that but…" Suddenly Todoroki's eyes widened. "Izuku, give me the cellphone quick. I need to check the news."

Midoriya quickly handed Todoroki the phone. His face paled as he read the news in more detail. "No…no no no…" he kept on whispering.

"Shouto, what's wrong?" Midoriya asked in concern.

"The main area of the attack is right where Fuyumi's office is!" Todoroki was now panicking. The report mentioned there being a few civilian casualties. Quite a few were hurt as well. Fuyumi should have called him by now to reassure him that she was fine. He checked his own cellphone. No missed calls...not even a text. _Was Fuyumi alright? Was she even in a position to receive a call? Would he cause more trouble for her by calling?_ He didn't know. His mind was working on overdrive.

"Let's go," came Midoriya's calm voice from beside him.

"Wha-?"

"You want to go right? Then let's go," urged on Midoriya.

"But the consequences …"

"We're not going to go there to fight. We're going there to check on your sister. I'm sure the heroes and police have already evacuated the civilians somewhere safe. We can go and check it out for ourselves then. That'll help put your mind at ease."

"Izuku…" Todoroki's heart seemed to burst from Midoriya's kindness. He was willing to risk his license and dive into danger just to reassure him. How selfless could one person be? To go this far for a _friend_ …

"Let's go."

They quickly changed out of their clothes. At the doorway, Midoriya paused.

"Was it true…what you said?" he asked softly, his face carefully turned away from Todoroki.

Todoroki frowned. "What's true?"

"What you said…about your decision regarding the marriage interview…"

"Oh." That had completely slipped out of his mind. "Ummm…ya. I thought about it for a while…so…" He couldn't see Midoriya's face. His heart sped up instantly. How would he react?

"I see. If that's the decision you're happy with…then…" Midoriya finally turned around. He was smiling…or at least, he was trying to. It didn't reach his eyes at all. "I'll be supporting you Shouto."

"…Thanks Izuku."

"I really do want to support you Shouto…but…there's something I have to tell you before that. Once we come back…I'll definitely tell you. I hope you'll forgive me for my selfishness."

 _Forgive? Selfishness? What was Midoriya talking about?_

"Izu-"

"Well we've wasted enough time already! Let's go Shouto," Midoriya called out as he walked out of the house before Todoroki could even ask him about what he meant.

* * *

Everything was in utter chaos when they reached town. The police had secured the area and no one was being allowed to advance into the danger zone. They could hear screams and explosions in the distance. The sky had turned red from the flames leaping off the buildings. Heroes and police alike were guiding the remaining civilians towards designated safe houses.

"Hey you kids! It's dangerous out here. Follow the heroes and get to a safe house immediately." A policeman shouted at them as they kept searching the area.

"Let's go Shouto. If Fuyumi was here, there's a high chance she's at one of the safe houses. Let's go check them out," suggested Midoriya.

Todoroki nodded in agreement. He could see men, women, and children running towards the shelters. Some civilians were still stuck inside buildings. There were heroes everywhere – carrying about rescue operations, dousing the flames, trying to maintain order amongst the increasing panic, fighting off the villains somewhere. It was when they were running past a comparatively desolate section did a flicker of movement catch his eyes. As he was about to turn, a flash of green filled his vision and before he could even understand what was going on, the cry of a little girl filled the air. He watched in horror, fixed to the ground, unable to move, as a burning building came crashing down.

Midoriya was nowhere to be seen.

* * *

 **A/N:** New chapter yooooooo! It's a kind of a birthday special update (cuz it's my birthday today hehehe ^_^ ) I finally turned 21!  
Well, putting aside the fact that I am now one year closer to my death, I wanna give a warm thanks to everyone who has supported me on this fanfic. Your comments mean the world to me. Love you all *muah*


	14. Chapter 14 : At Long Last

**Chapter 14 : At Long Last...**

"Izuku…?

The burning building filled Todoroki's vision. Before he knew it, his legs had propelled him towards it. He could hear more footsteps closing in. Someone was trying to hold him back but he couldn't make out what they were saying.

 _Izuku…Izuku_ …all that mattered was Izuku. He could see a bit of his clothes under the rubble. He needed to help. He needed to get Izuku out of there. He…

"Stand back boy!" An unfamiliar voice shouted in his ear. He felt a hand on his shoulder. No…no he needed to get to Izuku! He tried to shove the hand away but the grip was too strong.

"I told you to stand back! You'll get injured. This is not the place for kids. Let the heroes handle it."

Todoroki finally looked towards the source of the voice. It was a man, dressed in a yellowish orange hero costume with green and blue shades. He had scraps all over his body and he seemed worn out but the strength in his grip was nothing to scoff at.

"Izuku…I need to help Izuku…he…" Todoroki couldn't even form coherent sentences. His mind was racing at a million miles per hour. Was Izuku alright? Was he _alive_?

"Your friend huh…don't worry kid. You're lucky I was passing by this area. The fight's over here so there are not many heroes around in the vicinity but I contacted some of the rescue specialists immediately. They should be here soon. Oh…speak of the devils…"

Todoroki heard footsteps rushing forward.

"What's the situation Catalact?" asked a woman leading the group.

"That building collapsed due to the fire. There might be two kids trapped underneath,' answered the guy named Catalct. "Would love to help but…you know…my quirk…"

"Don't worry. We're on it now," answered the woman as she and her team immediately set on to lift the burning rubble.

Todoroki looked on helplessly as the heroes went on with the operation. Every passing second felt like an eternity to him. Why weren't they hurrying? How long would Izuku be stuck under the wreckage?

"…end?"

Catalact was saying something to him. But Todoroki couldn't even register the words. Izuku…Izuku…

"Hey kid, I asked, is that your friend? The one stuck under the building?"

"…yes."

"Hmm gotta say the boy is pretty brave. He reacted even faster than me to save that little kid. Hope he's alright." Catalact looked over at Todoroki when he didn't receive a response. The boy looked like he had just lost his whole world. The hero sighed. Being a hero was never an easy job. His own quirk was more like a catalyst to natural elements like fire, earth, wind and water. He could have helped if there had been any sign of water nearby but everything was in flames and he didn't want his quirk to make the situation worse.

In his line of work, he had seen his fair share of heroes lose their lives trying to save civilians. It was never easy. He prayed that the boy would make it out alive. A kid losing his life trying to save someone while he couldn't do anything would probably be something that would haunt him for life.

"I see him! Slowly lift this piece of concrete Strenor. Yoline, could you pull him out slowly? He probably has some broken bones and I don't want to jostle him more than necessary."

Todoroki could see the heroes finally pull out Izuku from the wreckage. Ignoring Catalact's shout he rushed forward. Izuku had wrapped his whole body around a little girl. She was conscious but the shock had rendered her speechless. The heroes slowly took her from Izuku's arms. She looked unharmed for the most part. The same couldn't be said for Izuku.

Todoroki has seen his fair share of Izuku, broken and bloodied. But it was never something he could get used to. His stomach churned as he saw Izuku's unconscious face. Blood was flowing steadily from his head. His back had borne the brunt of the crash. There was no way he didn't have at least a few broken ribs.

"Izuku…"

How could he even look Midoriya in the eye anymore? It was because of him…everything was because of him. He really didn't deserve to be around Midoriya. Could he have prevented this if he had reacted a little quicker? The rational part of him knew that there was no point in blaming himself. He should first make sure that Midoriya was alright. But rationality was not working anymore – not when Midoriya lay battered and bruised in front of him.

"Is…he going to be alright?" Todoroki heard the little girl asking one of the heroes who was providing her first aid. The hero muttered something to her which Todoroki couldn't catch. Probably something to reassure her. The girl was shaking from head to toe. She seemed to relax a little after hearing the reassurance.

Todoroki only wished that those words would come true.

* * *

Midoriya could hear muffled voices in the distance. It felt like someone had turned the volume down. Where was he? It hurt…his whole body hurt. He couldn't even open his eyes. He was so sleepy…

"…..you th….concussi…on…"

"His…..brok….sleep…."

What day was it? His sense of time was gone. He was surrounded by a very familiar scent. The scent of the inside of a hospital. Should he feel ashamed at how familiar and slightly comfortable that scent was? Wait…what was he even thinking? He lost his train of thoughts…

"Please Mrs Midoriya…..we ar…Izuku…."

"Doctor I nee…my boy….."

 _Mom?_ Wasn't his mother at a retreat? What was she doing here? Oh…right…he was in a hospital…figures that they would call her...Midoriya felt that familiar tinge of guilt he got every time his mother had to come visit him in the hospital. She really didn't deserve to have to keep on worrying about him so many times. He needed to tell her that he was fine…but he couldn't even move a muscle.

"You should go home for a while Shouto. You look like a mess."

Midoriya heard another familiar voice. It seemed like it was coming from beside his bed.

"I'm not leaving until he wakes up," came the reply.

Midoriya didn't like that tone. It was filled with anger and self-resentment. Shouto…that's right! He was with Shouto when…

He couldn't make out what else was being said. His consciousness slipped by him even as he tried desperately to hold on to it. _No…I need to talk…..to Shouto….!_

The next time he regained consciousness, he couldn't even feel the pain in his body. Or…at least it was at a very tolerable level. He tried moving is fingers. They were stiff but they moved nonetheless. Next, he slowly opened his eyes. It was dark. It took some time for his eyes to adjust to the darkness. It didn't look like he had any needles he was strapped to. He tried getting up but his back protested vehemently. Giving up he laid back down and looked around him.

He couldn't make out much. His eyes were still having a hard time focusing. Just then, outside, the clouds parted to reveal the bright moon in the sky. The blinds to his window were open and the pale moonlight which enveloped his room illuminated the most beautiful scene he had ever seen in his life. There, sitting near the foot of his bed, was Todoroki, asleep. His face looked absolutely heavenly bathed in the moonlight. Midoriya had to pinch himself to make sure he hadn't really died and gone to heaven.

He tried not to make much noise as he watched Todoroki's sleeping face. The whole scene seemed so unreal. Was it the darkness? The silence surrounding them? The moonlight? It seemed like a scene straight out of one of those Disney movies they were watching together. He could go on watching Todoroki forever.

His posture was starting to hurt him after a while. As he tried to shift his weight around without making too much noise, his hand accidentally bumped into something on the table beside him and a loud crash followed. Todoroki immediately jolted up from his sleep. His whole body went rigid as if he was preparing to face a swarm of enemies. It actually made Midoriya giggle out loud.

Todoroki looked in his direction, shock written all over his face. "Izuku…"

"Hey Shouto…" The words came out more like a croak. Midoriya's throat felt like it was on fire. He was about to ask Todoroki for some water but the words never came out of his mouth when he finally noticed Todoroki's face. Was he… _crying?!_

Todoroki stood near the end of the bed, tears streaming down his face. Midoriya was beginning to panic. He had never seen Todoroki cry before. What should he do? "Shouto what's wron-"

Before he could even finish his sentence, Todoroki rushed forward and wrapped his arms around Midoriya. " _I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry…_ "

Todoroki was trembling. Never had Midoriya seen him so vulnerable. Words were not what he needed right now. He gently returned Todoroki's hug and waited for him to calm down. After a while, Todoroki's trembling stopped. The tension in his body left him and he almost sagged on Midoriya. Slowly, he extracted his arms from around him.

"Shouto…have you been taking care of yourself? You look like an absolute mess!" Midoriya frowned when he looked at Todoroki. His had huge eyebags under his eyes and his face looked deathly pale. Todoroki raised an eyebrow. "Me? Have you taken a look at yourself in the mirror?"

Midoriya smirked. "Fair point." But the smile dropped from his face immediately. "Why were you crying?" he whispered.

Silence. Midoriya didn't want to push Todoroki so he waited. Finally…"I guess it was from relief? You were unconscious for three days. The doctor said you hit your head pretty bad. I was…afraid."  
Todoroki sat down on the bed beside him and took his hands in his. "Oh Izuku I was so afraid. I was scared of losing you forever. And it would have been all my fault. I…I just…I was terrified," confessed Todoroki, his voice trembling with all the pent-up emotion in him.

Midoriya's memories were a bit fuzzy but he was slowly putting the pieces together. They had gone to town…there was a villain attack…Fuyumi…and then he had noticed the…!

"Shouto! What about Fuyumi-san? And there was a kid in front of that bui…"

"Fuyumi's fine. She was in one of the shelters. She lost her phone during the evacuation. You saved the little girl. She wasn't injured much," informed Todoroki.

Midoriya sighed in relief. "Thank goodness…" But then his voice immediately grew stern. "And exactly what did you mean when you said that it would have been your fault?"

"I just…feel responsible. I know you're probably gonna say it wasn't my fault or anything but it still doesn't change the fact that I regret ever insisting on going out that night."

"Shouto…"

"And I don't even know how I can face Uraraka after this. She called me a few times after she couldn't reach your cell but I was afraid of facing her…even on the phone. Fuyumi let her know about the accident. I'm…I'm such a coward…"

Midoriya was confused. Why would Todoroki have to be afraid of Ochako? Sure she was protective of him but surely even Ochako wouldn't blame Todoroki for what happened.

"Ummm Shouto…why are you even worried about facing Ochako?" he decided to ask.

"Uh…well…because she's your girlfriend right? She has the right to be pissed off at me. Ah I guess you didn't want anyone to know about your relationship. I'm sorry. I accidentally overheard your conversation with her and…"

Okay…now Midoriya was even _more_ confused! "What the hell are you talking about?" he asked incredulously. Midoriya rarely sweared but he'd allow himself a little exception for this case. "Ochako isn't my girlfriend."

"Huh? You don't have to keep hiding it from me Izuku. I thought you trusted me more than that. I heard you say…" Todoroki blushed. Dropping his voice, he continued, "Umm I heard you say _I love you_ to her."

"I never said I….oh…." Just then Midoriya remembered…

* * *

 _"Ohhhh Izuku….you were so close. It's just three simple words. You can do it."_

 _"Do I have to Uraraka? This is so embarrassing!"_

 _"Come on Izuku. Just three words. Say it out in one breath."_

 _"Easy for you to say." …_

 _"I love you."_

 _"See?! That wasn't so hard now was it? Now you just have to say those words out loud and clear without stammering."_

 _"I know…thanks Uraraka."_

* * *

Realization finally dawned on Midoriya. That was the only possible explanation. Oh god how could he have been so stupid?! He should have paid closer attention to his surroundings! Wait…no…more importantly…why hadn't Todoroki brought this up after all the time they… _oh…ohhhhh_ was that why Todoroki started acting all weird? The jumbled pieces in Midoriya's mind were finally falling into places. But…if that really was the reason for Todoroki's sudden change of behaviour then does that mean he…

 _Well…it was worth a shot_ , thought Midoriya.

"Ya I love her…" he said, making sure not to look at Todoroki in the eyes.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see Todoroki flinch slightly. "I'm…I'm happy for y…"

"Just as much as I love Iida, Kirishima, Kacchan, the rest of our classmates, All might, and even my mom…" continued Midoriya. "So…if you want to know whether I love Ochako, then the answer would be yes. I do. But Shouto, you totally misunderstood that phone call."

Todoroki looked at Midoriya, confusion written all over his face, "Misunderstood…?"

"That's right." Midoriya shifted closer to Todoroki. There was hardly any space between them. Midoriya could hear the sharp intake of Todoroki's breath. He smiled inwardly. "You misunderstood. Those words weren't meant for her. They were for someone else."

Midoriya's words were barely a whisper by this point. Both of them were too close to each other, their breaths mingling. Neither made a move to shift away.

"For…someone else…?" Todoroki asked in a whisper. What was with this atmosphere? He couldn't take his eyes off the boy's face. Before he knew it, his face was right in front of Midoriya's. He was trapped under the intensity of those sparkling green eyes. He eyes kept on focusing on the lips in front of him.

"Yes…those words…were meant for you Shouto…"

Todoroki stopped breathing. Did he hear him correctly? Eyes wide, he kept on staring at Midoriya. There was no way he heard that right…right?

And then...

"I love you, Shouto."

* * *

 **A/N:** New chapter yooooooooo! I was so excited about this one hehehe ^_^  
The next chapter will be the final one for this story. I'm going to take extra special care of that chapter so it might be a little late. But I'll make sure it'll be worth the wait. As usual, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to everyone who took time out of their lives to read this little story of mine. You comments make my day even better. Thank you so much for either following / favouriting the story ^_^

You can follow me on Tumblr and/or Twitter for chapter updates and announcements and stuff.  
Tumblr: blog/fadedlaughter707  
Twitter: Faded_Laughter


	15. Chapter 15:Love You to the Moon and Back

**Chapter 15 : Love You to the Moon and Back**

"Hey, don't push me!"

"Honestly Ochako-san! I am not pushing you deliberately. This crowd is too much!"

"Both of you stop moving your mouths and move your legs or else we'll lose trac- Ahhhhh where did they go?"

"I think I just saw them heading towards the candied apples stand…"

"Wait isn't that Midoriya-san's kimono?"

"No that's someone else. Ahhhh this is no good! We've completely lost sight of them! And here I even brought my DSLR camera."

"Don't worry Fuyumi-san. We'll definitely find them at some point!"

"…Should I create some binoculars?"

"I think that would be too suspicious Momo. They might notice us."

"Well let's go get something to eat while keeping an eye out for them. Momo, Ochako what would guys like to eat? It's my treat!"

"Yay you're the best Fuyumi-san! Let's see…I wanna have takoyaki!"

"I suppose…since we're at the festival, we might as well enjoy it. I'll have some cotton candy."

"Let's go! Let's go!"

"Ochako-san, you'll ruin your kimono if you keep jumping up and down like that."

The voices of the three women faded away in the distance. A face peeked out from behind a tree.

"Shouto…are they gone?"

"Hmm looks like it but let's avoid the food stalls for a while. It was exhausting trying to shake them off," replied Todoroki. "Are you hungry?"

Midoriya shook his head. "I can hold out for a while. We already had two helpings of yakisoba."

"Then…do you want to go somewhere with me? There's this place I want to take you to."

"Of course Shouto! Let's go!"

The two boys held hands as they navigated their way through the crowd, making sure not to ruin their disguises. They were the top upcoming new professional heroes and their popularity had seriously skyrocketed recently. Midoriya couldn't even go to the convenience store without running into screaming fans (mostly boys). Shouto had it worse. He couldn't even step out of the house without fans (mostly girls) surrounding him and asking for autographs, handshakes or selfies. He kept up a poker face in front of his fans but the way he would just exhale and flump down on Midoriya when they were alone in their home, rubbing himself closer to him urging the boy to pet his hair, would never fail to make Midoriya swoon.

Midoriya finally found himself in a clearing after following Shouto's lead. What caught Midoriya's eye was the huge lake in the clearing. Its waters were glistening in the moonlight. The lake was surrounded by trees, giving the place a serene and mystical atmosphere. There were hardly any people around. After all they had walked quite far from the festival.

"Do you like it?" asked Todoroki.

"It's beautiful," whispered Midoriya as he took in the breathtaking scene surrounding him.

"I found this place a few days ago. Thought it would be a good idea to invite you here today. The fireworks will start soon. We can get a good view from here."

Midoriya squeezed Todoroki's hand to show him his appreciation for such a nice gesture. Todoroki smiled. His whole world was right there, beside him, holding his hand, the sparkle in his beautiful green eyes never diminishing. As they sat down on the damp grass and waited for the fireworks to begin, Todoroki's mind took a trip down memory lane and stopped on that fateful day which had changed his life forever.

* * *

 _"I love you, Shouto."_

Silence. Were his ears playing tricks on him? Or did Midoriya seriously just confess to him? Todoroki knew Midoriya was waiting for an answer. But he just couldn't form the right words. The green haired boy patiently waited for him to get over the shock.

"Shouto?! Whoa hey why are you crying? Did I mess up? Oh God…Shouto…hey…"

He was crying? Oh…right…Midoriya did seem a little blurry. He touched his face. Sure enough tears were leaking from his eyes.

"Huh…why…am…I crying…I…" He tried to rub his eyes but the tears just wouldn't stop. "Izuku…I…I love you so much…I'm…I'm so happy right now…"

"Shouto…" Midoriya finally relaxed. "Shouto…come closer."

"But…we're already sitting close. Plus I don't want to ruin your bandages or any-"

"Shouto I want you to come closer."

The authoritative voice sent a shiver down Todoroki's spine. He shifted even closer to Midoriya. They were face to face now. Midoriya held Todoroki's face between his hands.

"I love you Shouto. I've loved you for a long time. I love spending time with you everyday. I love watching movies with you. I love how you fail to understand memes. I love how focused you become whenever you are eating your favourite cold soba noodles. I love how you never hold back whenever we spar. I love how unguarded and beautiful your face looks when you're asleep. I love how serious your face gets whenever you are thinking about something…even if it is something trivial. I love everything about you Shouto."

Todoroki covered Midoriya's hands with his own. "I was so dejected," he whispered. "When I thought you and Uraraka were…I just…I couldn't think straight anymore. It hurt so much. I didn't want to break down completely. So…I thought I wouldn't allow myself to get close to you anymore. I thought accepting my father's proposal would be the only way out for me." He laughed. "I was pretty stupid, wasn't I? If I had just asked you about it then…"

"No shit Sherlock. Things would have been so much easier," laughed Midoriya as he playfully punched Todoroki. "But…I am to blame as well. I knew something was bothering you yet I couldn't gather up the courage to just ask you head on. I didn't want to seem too pushy."

"So…umm…does that mean that now we're…umm….you know…ah…" Even though it was dark, Midoriya could make out the deepest of blushes on Todoroki's face as he tried to frame his question. Ahhh he shouldn't let go of this opportunity to imprint the image in his mind.

"Lovers?" suggested Midoriya, trying his best to hide his smirk.

Todoroki went even redder, if that was possible. "I…was thinking more along the lines of boyfriend but…ya…"

"I suppose we are," replied Midoriya.

"Good. Because I've been wanting to do this for more than a year now." Todoroki didn't even give Midoriya the chance to register his words before he leaned forward and kissed him. It was just a peck on the lips after which he pulled back and rested his forehead on Midoriya's. It gave him the perfect view to take in Midoriya's surprised face which had taken on the deepest of red shades that Todoroki had ever seem. As Midoriya started fumbling, Todoroki leaned in and whispered in his ear, "That's payback for earlier."

Midoriya's heart rate sped up dramatically as he saw the devilish grin on Todoroki's face. _This boy will be the end of me,_ he thought. And he wasn't really wrong. His heart rate monitor started beeping all of a sudden and he could hear the hurried footsteps of someone coming closer to his room. A nurse entered, looking around frantically.

"Wh…you're awake! Mr. Todoroki please move aside. I need to check up on your friend."

The nurse pushed away Todoroki from beside Midoriya and started examining him. "Hmmm your vitals look normal. But your face is really heating up and why did your heart rate speed up so much. Did you have a nightmare?"

Midoriya looked at Todoroki sheepishly as they shared a smile. "Ah no ma'am. It wasn't a nightmare. In fact…I was having the best dream ever."

* * *

"Shouto, you've gone pretty quiet. What are you thinking?"

Todoroki returned to the present when he felt Midoriya rest his head on his shoulder. The boy took Todoroki's hand in his and began absentmindedly playing with his fingers.

"Just thinking about the time we finally manged to confess to each other," replied Todoroki smiling fondly at the memory.

Midoriya chuckled. "We were so awkward back then. It always makes me laugh remembering how much we were overthinking about everything when it was so clear we liked each other."

"Yeah. Fuyumi and Yayourozu even scolded me for taking so damn long about it."

"Ochako did the same. She was so exasperated that I needed to be in a hospital bed for us to finally come clean about our feelings. We have some pretty supportive friends don't we?"

"Umm yeah well I wouldn't mind Kaminari, Sero, Ashido and Mineta being a tad bit less supportive. Their barrage of questions were borderline sexual harassment."

Midoriya laughed. It was one of Todoroki's favourite sounds. It reminded him of clear bells ringing out in celebration on a clear summer's day. "They were being supportive in their own ways."

"It's been a whole year since that day huh…" Todoroki commented contemplatively.

"Yeah…time sure flies."

The two immersed themselves in a peaceful silence. Ever since they graduated and became professional heroes, they hardly ever got to enjoy each other's company in peace. Eight months into their new careers, Todoroki began staying over in Midoriya's new apartment more. It was closer to his own agency and he hardly ever had the energy to go to his own house after a day's hero duties. Well, Todoroki wasn't the only one who had a surprise in mind today.

"Shouto?"

"Yeah?"

"I…have a present for you."

"A present? Is there a special occasion?" Todoroki tried wracking his brain to remember whether the day had some kind of special significance. It wasn't either of their birthdays. Was it some kind of anniversary?

"Ah no. It's not cuz of a special occasion," answered Midoriya immediately assuring Todoroki. "It's…umm…well I've been thinking about this for a few weeks and I thought I would surprise you today. Since it's one of the rare days where we both get a day off."

Saying that Midoriya took out a small gift wrapped packet and put in in Todoroki's hands.

"Can I open it now?" asked Todoroki. His curiosity was increasing by the second. Midoriya nodded. Todoroki made sure to open the packet gently. A shiny object fell out from it. He picked it up and held it in front of him. His eyes grew wide.

"Izuku…is this what I think it is…?" he asked quietly.

"Yes. It's the key to my apartment. I want you to move in with me Shouto," answered Midoriya, his face all flushed.

Todoroki looked at the key in his hand. It was a small key attached to a custom-made keychain which had _Todoroki Shouto_ inscribed on it. It was simple yet beautiful. Todoroki clutched it to his chest as he became overwhelmed with his emotions. "I'd love to move in with you Izuku."

He got the brightest smile from Midoriya. This was another big step forward into their relationship. Todoroki couldn't help but lean forward and press his lips against Midoriya. Midoriya responded immediately, leaning forward into the kiss and letting out a contended sigh. Todoroki had to remind himself that they were out in public. _It is not hero like to jump on your boyfriend in public_ – he kept on repeating the mantra. Seconds passed…or maybe minutes…or maybe hours…who cared? All he could feel was the softness of Midoriya's lips on his. How Midoriya's body fit perfectly in his arms, how the boy would unconsciously let out little moans every time they parted to take a breath, how Midoriya's would just melt with a single touch from Todoroki. Yes…Todoroki Shouto was in love. Very much so.

They were interrupted when the firework show started. The sky lit up around them in various shades of colours. Midoriya looked up at the sky in awe, his eyes twinkling in excitement. However, to Todoroki, the most beautiful sight he had ever seen was sitting right beside him, face flushed and lips a little swollen from all the kissing. As he basked in the feeling of being head over heels in love, he silently vowed to make Midoriya the happiest person in the whole world. The little box hidden in his trousers waited patiently for the right time.

Their future was just beginning.

 **THE END**

* * *

 **A/N:** And...that's a wrap people. Ahhhh I think I'm getting a little emotional. It was such a great experience writing this story. TodoroiXMidoriya is very close to my heart an I'm glad I could contribute something to the ship. Dammit I'm seriously tearing up. Well...I've loved every second writing this story. It really made me happy seeing you people enjoy it as well. That means my story has been able to leave a mark on you all. I don't know my readers personally but I've felt so connected to each and every one of you when I read your comments or see that you have favourited the story. Thank you so much everyone...from the bottom of my heart I want to convey my heartfelt thanks.

If you loved the story and want to stay updates about any new story I might be working on or just follow me in general you can hit me up on Twitter and Tumblr!

Twitter: Faded_Laughter  
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